卧薪尝胆
Traditional form:
臥薪嘗膽
Pinyin (reading):
wòxīnchángdǎn
Definitions:
- lit. to sleep on brushwood and taste gall (like King Gou Jian of Yue 勾踐／勾践 ( Gōu Jiàn)), in order to recall one's humiliations) (idiom)
- fig. to maintain one's resolve for revenge
Characters:
- 卧 - to crouch; to lie down
- 薪 - fuel, firewood; salary
- 尝 - to taste; to experience, to experiment with
- 胆 - gallbladder; gall, guts, courage
Traditional characters: