草船借箭 cǎo chuán jiè jiàn

use others' power to reach your goal

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. lit. using straw boats to borrow arrows (idiom, from 三国演义sān guó yǎn yì)
  2. 2. fig. to use others' manpower and resources for one's own ends

Characters

Character Meaning
草 cǎo HSK 3
grass; careless; rough
船 chuán HSK 3
boat; ship; vessel
借 jiè HSK 3
to borrow; to lend; by means of
箭 jiàn HSK 6
arrow