成者為王，敗者為寇
See also: 成者为王，败者为寇
Chinese
finish; complete; accomplish finish; complete; accomplish; become; turn into; win; succeed; one tenth |
‑ist, ‑er (person); person (who does something) | to be; to become | king | be defeated; to defeat; loss | ‑ist, ‑er (person); person (who does something) | to be; to become | bandit | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (成者為王，敗者為寇) | 成 | 者 | 為 | 王 | ， | 敗 | 者 | 為 | 寇 | |
| simp. (成者为王，败者为寇) | 成 | 者 | 为 | 王 | ， | 败 | 者 | 为 | 寇 | |
| Literally: “The victor becomes king, the defeated an outlaw.” | ||||||||||
Etymology
Based on a line in The Orphan of Zhao (translation by West & Idema, 2015):
- 我成則為王，敗則為虜。事已至此，惟求早死而已。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
- From: Yuan Dynasty, Ji Junxiang, The Orphan of Zhao
- Wǒ chéng zé wéi wáng ， bài zé wéi lǔ. Shì yǐ zhì cǐ, wéi qiú zǎosǐ éryǐ. [Pinyin]
- Successful, I would have been a king; defeated, I am a prisoner. Now that things have reached this point, I only wish to die quickly.
我成则为王，败则为虏。事已至此，惟求早死而已。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: chéng zhě wéi wáng, bài zhě wéi kòu
- Zhuyin: ㄔㄥˊ ㄓㄜˇ ㄨㄟˊ ㄨㄤˊ , ㄅㄞˋ ㄓㄜˇ ㄨㄟˊ ㄎㄡˋ
- Tongyong Pinyin: chéng jhě wéi wáng, bài jhě wéi kòu
- Wade–Giles: chʻêng2 chê3 wei2 wang2, pai4 chê3 wei2 kʻou4
- Yale: chéng jě wéi wáng-, bài jě wéi kòu
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: cherng jee wei wang, bay jee wei kow
- Palladius: чэн чжэ вэй ван, бай чжэ вэй коу (čɛn čžɛ vɛj van, baj čžɛ vɛj kou)
- Sinological IPA (key): /ʈ͡ʂʰɤŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ weɪ̯³⁵ wɑŋ³⁵ paɪ̯⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ weɪ̯³⁵ kʰoʊ̯⁵¹/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: sing4 ze2 wai4 wong4, baai6 ze2 wai4 kau3
- Yale: sìhng jé wàih wòhng, baaih jé wàih kau
- Cantonese Pinyin: sing4 dze2 wai4 wong4, baai6 dze2 wai4 kau3
- Guangdong Romanization: xing4 zé2 wei4 wong4, bai6 zé2 wei4 keo3
- Sinological IPA (key): /sɪŋ²¹ t͡sɛː³⁵ wɐi̯²¹ wɔːŋ²¹ paːi̯²² t͡sɛː³⁵ wɐi̯²¹ kʰɐu̯³³/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Proverb
成者為王，敗者為寇Category:Chinese lemmas#戈02老04火05玉-9攴07老04火05宀08Category:Chinese proverbs#戈02老04火05玉-9攴07老04火05宀08Category:Chinese entries with incorrect language header#戈02老04火05玉-9攴07老04火05宀08Category:Pages with entries#成者為王，敗者為寇Category:Pages with 1 entry#成者為王，敗者為寇
- Legitimacy belongs to the victor; might makes right; Used to mean a person is judged solely on whether they succeeded or failed
Synonyms
- 成王敗寇／成王败寇 (chéngwángbàikòu)
- 成者王侯敗者寇／成者王侯败者寇 (chéng zhě wánghóu bài zhě kòu)
- 成者王侯敗者賊／成者王侯败者贼Category:Chinese redlinks/zh-l
- 勝者為王，敗者為寇／胜者为王，败者为寇Category:Chinese redlinks/zh-l
- 成則為王，敗則為寇／成则为王，败则为寇Category:Chinese redlinks/zh-l
Descendants
- → Vietnamese: thắng làm vua, thua làm giặc (calque)
Category:Cantonese lemmas
Category:Cantonese proverbs
Category:Chinese lemmas
Category:Chinese proverbs
Category:Chinese redlinks/zh-l
Category:Chinese terms spelled with 寇
Category:Chinese terms spelled with 成
Category:Chinese terms spelled with 敗
Category:Chinese terms spelled with 為
Category:Chinese terms spelled with 王
Category:Chinese terms spelled with 者
Category:Chinese terms with IPA pronunciation
Category:Mandarin lemmas
Category:Mandarin proverbs
Category:Mandarin terms with quotations
Category:Pages with 1 entry
Category:Pages with entries