草船借箭 cǎo chuán jiè jiàn

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. using straw boats to borrow arrows (idiom, from 三國演義|三国演义[San1 guo2 Yan3 yi4])
  2. fig. to use others' manpower and resources for one's own ends

CHARACTERS

草 cǎo
HSK 3
grass, straw, thatch, herbs
船 chuán
HSK 3
ship, boat, vessel
借 jiè
HSK 3
borrow; lend; make pretext of
箭 jiàn
HSK 6
arrow; type of bamboo