变生肘腋

Traditional form:

變生肘腋

Pinyin (reading):

biànshēngzhǒuyè

Definitions:

• lit. calamity in one's armpit (idiom); a major coup happening on one's doorstep
• trouble or danger in one's own backyard

Characters:

• 变 - to change, to transform, to alter; rebel
• 生 - life, lifetime; birth; growth
• 肘 - elbow, shoulder; to help someone carry a load
• 腋 - armpit

Traditional characters:

• 變 - to change, to transform, to alter; rebel
• 生 - life, lifetime; birth; growth
• 肘 - elbow, shoulder; to help someone carry a load
• 腋 - armpit