📖 Meaning
To offer ideas and propose strategies to help solve a problem. It describes someone actively contributing their wit and counsel to assist a leader or team in overcoming difficulties and achieving success.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom has no single definitive literary origin, as it is a commonly used phrase assembled from the verbs 出谋 (to devise plans) and 献策 (to offer strategies). It draws on China's long tradition of advisors and strategists, such as Zhuge Liang advising Liu Bei during the Three Kingdoms period. The phrase encapsulates the valued role of the counselor who provides counsel in times of crisis.
💡 Example Usage
刘备得力于诸葛亮的出谋献策，而取得了赤壁之战的胜利。
Liu Bei benefited from Zhuge Liang's strategies and counsel, and thus won the Battle of Red Cliffs.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 出谋献策
- Pinyin: chū móu xiàn cè
- Literal Translation: come forth, strategy, offer, plan
- Category: Wisdom
- Characters: 4