Dictionary › 卧薪尝胆

卧薪尝胆

wò xīn cháng dǎn

4-character word Traditional 臥薪嘗膽

What 卧薪尝胆 means

1. (lit.) to sleep on brushwood and taste gall (like King Goujian of Yue {勾践|Gōu jiàn}, in order to recall one's humiliations) (idiom)
2. (fig.) to maintain one's resolve for revenge

Other readings

卧薪尝胆 is 多音字 — it is read more than one way, and the reading changes the meaning.

• wò xīn cháng dǎnvariant of {卧薪尝胆|wò xīn cháng dǎn}

The characters in 卧薪尝胆

• 卧wòto lie; to crouch
• 薪xīn(literary) firewood; fuel; (bound form) salary
• 尝chángto taste; to try (food); to experience; (literary) ever; once
• 胆dǎngall bladder; courage; guts