身先士卒

shēnxiānshìzú
  1. to fight at the head of one's troops
  2. (fig.) to take the lead

CEDICT

  1. (figurative) to take the lead as the leader
  2. (literal) to be situated in front of all soldiers and attack the enemy as the general
  3. to be situated in front of all soldiers and attack the enemy as the general
  4. to take the lead as the leader

Wiktionary

  1. 作戰時將帥奮勇殺敵於士兵之前。《三國演義．第七二回》：「披堅執銳，臨難不顧，身先士卒；賞必行，罰必信。」也作「躬先士卒」、「身先士眾」。
  2. 比喻領導、帶頭走在眾人之前。

重編國語辭典

Entry Composition

1 身 shēn
  1. body
  2. life
  3. oneself
  4. personally
  5. one's morality and conduct
  6. the main part of a structure or body
  7. pregnant
  8. classifier for sets of clothes: suit, twinset
  9. Kangxi radical 158
2 先 xiān
  1. beforehand; first; earlier
  2. at first; originally
  3. for the time being; for now
  4. (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself)
3 士卒 shìzú
  1. soldier
  2. private (army)

Related entries

一馬當先 yīmǎdāngxiān (idiom) to take the lead
佔上風 zhànshàngfēng
  1. to take the lead
  2. to gain the upper hand
打頭陣 dǎtóuzhèn to take the lead
挑頭 tiǎotóu
  1. to take the lead
  2. to be first to (do sth)
  3. to pioneer
率先 shuàixiān
  1. to take the lead
  2. to show initiative
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