📖 Meaning
To swear that two opposing parties cannot coexist. It describes a situation where the hatred or enmity between two sides is so deep that they cannot exist at the same time. It expresses an uncompromising determination to defeat one's enemy.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from 'Strategies of the Warring States' (战国策·楚策一), where a strategist explained to the King of Chu that the states of Qin and Chu were fundamentally antagonistic — when Chu was strong, Qin was weak, and vice versa, so the two could not stand simultaneously. The phrase was later popularized in Luo Guanzhong's 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms,' where the general Zhou Yu declares his sworn enmity against the warlord Cao Cao, refusing to coexist with him.
💡 Example Usage
在国家危难之时，他与敌人誓不两立。
In a time of national crisis, he swore never to coexist with the enemy.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 誓不两立
- Pinyin: shì bù liǎng lì
- Literal Translation: swear, not, two, stand
- Category: Determination
- Characters: 4