📖 Meaning
To take up weapons against members of one's own household. It refers to internal strife, especially infighting among family members or within a group. The idiom describes conflicts where people who should be allies turn against each other.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Zuo Zhuan (左传·昭公元年), a chronicle of the State of Lu from the Spring and Autumn period. It describes how the Zheng nobleman Zichan warned against discord within a single family, using the metaphor of people in the same room taking up arms against one another. Over time, the expression broadened from denoting disputes among siblings to encompass any internal conflict within an organization or faction.
💡 Example Usage
两兄弟为了争夺家产同室操戈，闹得亲族都不安宁。
The two brothers turned on each other fighting over the inheritance, causing turmoil among the whole family.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 同室操戈
- Pinyin: tóng shì sāo gē
- Literal Translation: same room, wield, halberd
- Category: Conflict
- Characters: 4