📖 Meaning
This idiom means to launch an attack at a time or place the enemy has not anticipated. It emphasizes the strategic value of surprise and exploiting an opponent's unpreparedness. It is commonly used to describe a sudden, unexpected assault in military or competitive contexts.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from a commentary by the Wei dynasty strategist Cao Cao on Sunzi's Art of War, in the chapter 'Xu Shi' (Emptiness and Fullness). Sunzi wrote that an army can travel a thousand li without exhaustion because it moves through undefended territory. Cao Cao's annotation explains this principle as 'attack the void, avoid where the enemy defends, and strike where they do not expect.' The idiom distills this classical idea of winning through surprise.
💡 Example Usage
敌军立足未稳，将军决定击其不意，连夜发起突袭。
The enemy had not yet established their position, so the general decided to strike where they least expected and launch a surprise attack that night.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 击其不意
- Pinyin: jī qí bù yì
- Literal Translation: attack, them, not, expect
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4