擒贼擒王
擒贼擒王 (qín zéi qín wáng) literally means “capture thief capture king” and expresses “target the leader”. This idiom is used when describing situations involving strategy and action.
Also searched as: qin zei qin wang, qin zei qin wang,擒贼擒王 meaning, 擒贼擒王 in english
Target the leader
Pronunciation: qín zéi qín wáng Literal meaning: Capture thief capture king
Origin & Usage
Du Fu wrote it in a frontier poem, in a couplet that is quoted more often than the poem: to shoot a man first shoot his horse, to catch the bandits (擒贼) first catch (擒) their king (王). The eighteenth stratagem takes it up. What makes it more than obvious advice is the second half of Du Fu's argument, that killing has limits and states have borders — the point of going for the head is to end the thing quickly rather than to fight everyone. Root causes as often as people.
Examples
English: "To resolve the conflict, they targeted the leader rather than the followers."
Chinese: 为了解决冲突，他们的目标是领导者而不是追随者。
Related Chinese Idioms
Similar idioms about strategy & action
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 擒贼擒王 mean in English?
擒贼擒王 (qín zéi qín wáng) literally translates to “Capture thief capture king” and is used to express “Target the leader”. This Chinese idiom belongs to the Strategy & Action category.
When is 擒贼擒王 used?
Situation: To resolve the conflict, they targeted the leader rather than the followers.
What is the pinyin for 擒贼擒王?
The pinyin pronunciation for 擒贼擒王 is “qín zéi qín wáng”.