📖 Meaning
To assess the prevailing circumstances and estimate one's own strength or resources before taking action. It stresses the importance of carefully judging both the situation and one's capabilities rather than acting recklessly.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom does not trace to a single specific source but synthesizes two longstanding concepts in Chinese strategic thought: 量时 (weighing the times) and 度力 (measuring one's strength). The idea of evaluating circumstances and capacity before acting appears throughout classical military and political writings, reflecting a pragmatic tradition of cautious deliberation. It embodies the same rational, situation-aware mindset found in works such as Sunzi's Art of War and later Ming-Qing commentaries on statecraft.
💡 Example Usage
做事要量时度力，不可盲目冒进。
One should weigh the circumstances and gauge one's capacity before acting; one must not rush forward blindly.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 量时度力
- Pinyin: liàng shí dù lì
- Literal Translation: weigh, times, measure, strength
- Category: Wisdom
- Characters: 4