兵來將擋,水來土掩

兵来将挡,水来土掩
bīngláijiàngdǎng,shuǐláiyǎn
  1. counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir (idiom); different situations call for different action
  2. to adopt measures appropriate to the actual situation

CEDICT

Entry Composition

1 bīng
  1. soldiers
  2. a force
  3. an army
  4. weapons
  5. arms
  6. military
  7. warlike

classifier:

2 lái
  1. to come
  2. (used as a substitute for a more specific verb)
  3. hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來 huílai)
  4. ever since (as in 自古以來 lái)
  5. for the past (amount of time)
  6. (prefix) the coming ...; the next ... (as in 來世 láishì)
  7. (between two verbs) in order to
  8. (after a round number) approximately
  9. (used after to indicate possibility, as in 談得來 tándelái, or after to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不來 chībulái)
3 jiàng
  1. (bound form) a general
  2. (literary) to command; to lead
  3. (Chinese chess) general (on the black side, equivalent to a king in Western chess)
4 dǎng
  1. to resist
  2. to obstruct
  3. to hinder
  4. to keep off
  5. to block (a blow)
  6. to get in the way of
  7. cover
  8. gear (e.g. in a car's transmission)
5 shuǐ
  1. water
  2. (after a name) ... River
  3. to swim (used mostly in 會水 huìshuǐ and 水性 shuǐxìng)
  4. (coll.) lacking in substance; shoddy
  5. (bound form) additional cost; extra income
  6. classifier for washings of a garment
6 lái
  1. to come
  2. (used as a substitute for a more specific verb)
  3. hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來 huílai)
  4. ever since (as in 自古以來 lái)
  5. for the past (amount of time)
  6. (prefix) the coming ...; the next ... (as in 來世 láishì)
  7. (between two verbs) in order to
  8. (after a round number) approximately
  9. (used after to indicate possibility, as in 談得來 tándelái, or after to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不來 chībulái)
7
  1. earth
  2. dust
  3. clay
  4. local
  5. indigenous
  6. crude opium
  7. unsophisticated
  8. one of the eight categories of ancient musical instruments 八音 yīn
8 yǎn
  1. to cover up; to conceal
  2. to close (a door, book etc)
  3. (coll.) to get (one's fingers etc) caught when closing a door or lid
  4. (literary) to launch a surprise attack

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