Unable to Get off from the Tiger

Characters:

Pronunciation: qi(2) hu(3) nan(3) xia(4)
Explanation: a metaphor for describing someone who is in a difficult situation

Tone: Neutral

The Story: In 328 AD, General Su Jun in East Jin rebelled and his army marched to the capital. Minister Wen Qiao was appointed to cease the rebellion. As Su Jun's army was very strong at first, Wen Qiao was in an inferior position, and his general leader Tao Kan was depressed.

Wen Qiao noticed this, and he said to Tao Kan: "In this circumstance, you can't go back. It is just like we are on a tiger's back, and unable to get off. All we should do now is to kill the tiger and get free." Tao Kan thought about this and agreed with him.

He cheered up, and defeated Su Jun in a few months.

Usage Example (Pinyin): Ta(1) xian(4) zai(4) shi(4) qi(2) hu(3) nan(2) xia(4), kai(4) lai(2) mei(2) ren(2) neng(2) bang(1) ta(1).

Usage Example (English translation): He is unable to get off from the tiger. Seems like no one can help.

Note: The spoken Chinese Mandarin language has 4 spoken tones. We have attempted to re-create those above where after each syllable we tell you (1), (2), (3), or (4) as they correspond to each of the 4 tones. We encourage you to complement your Xianzai.com Chinese Idioms newsletter with a good offline study program.