赔了夫人又折兵 péi le fū rén yòu zhé bīng

suffer double loss; backfire badly

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. having given away a bride, to lose one's army on top of it (idiom)
  2. 2. to suffer a double loss after trying to trick the enemy

Characters

Character Meaning
赔 péi HSK 5
to compensate for loss; to suffer a financial loss
了 le HSK 1
(completed action marker)
夫 fū HSK 2
husband; man; manual worker
人 rén HSK 1
person; people; man
又 yòu HSK 3
(once) again; also; both... and...
折 zhé HSK 4
to fold; to bend; to break
兵 bīng HSK 5
soldiers; military; weapons