不共戴天 bù gòng dài tiān sworn enemies

Explanation

这个成语的意思是：指仇恨极深，不能共同存在于世。

This idiom means: To hate someone so deeply that it is impossible to coexist with them.

Origin Story

战国时期，赵国和秦国之间势不两立，两国人民也因此相互仇恨。有一次，秦国派兵攻打赵国，赵国将军廉颇率兵抵抗，双方在长平战场上激战了数月，战况十分惨烈。最终，赵国战败，廉颇也因战败被罢免。赵王为了求得和平，派人向秦国求和，但秦王却拒绝了。秦王说：“廉颇不死，赵国不降。”廉颇得知此事后，深知自己已经成了秦国的心腹大患，为了保全赵国，他决定主动出击，率领赵国残兵败将，誓死抵抗秦军的进攻。最终，廉颇以少胜多，打败了秦军，保住了赵国的国土。而秦王得知廉颇不死，赵国不降后，终于明白，廉颇是赵国不可战胜的将军，于是就派使者向赵国议和，两国之间终于达成了和平协议。

zhàn guó shí qī, zhào guó hé qín guó zhī jiān shì bù gòng dài tiān, liǎng guó rén mín yě yīn cǐ xiāng hù chóu hèn. yǒu yī cì, qín guó pài bīng gōng dǎ zhào guó, zhào guó jiāng jūn lián pó shuài bīng dǐ kàng, liǎng fāng zài cháng píng zhàn chǎng shàng jī zhàn le shù yuè, zhàn kuàng shí fēn cǎn liè. zuì zhōng, zhào guó zhàn bài, lián pó yě yīn zhàn bài bèi bà miǎn. zhào wáng wèi le qiú dé hé píng, pài rén xiàng qín guó qiú hé, dàn qín wáng què jù jué le. qín wáng shuō: “lián pó bù sǐ, zhào guó bù jiàng.” lián pó dé zhī cǐ shì hòu, shēn zhī zì jǐ yǐ jīng chéng le qín guó de xīn fù dà huàn, wèi le bǎo quán zhào guó, tā jué dìng zhǔ dòng chū jī, shuài lǐng zhào guó cán bīng bài jiàng, shì sǐ dǐ kàng qín jūn de gōng jī. zuì zhōng, lián pó yǐ shǎo shèng duō, dǎ bài le qín jūn, bǎo zhù le zhào guó de guó tǔ. ér qín wáng dé zhī lián pó bù sǐ, zhào guó bù jiàng hòu, zhōng yú míng bai, lián pó shì zhào guó bù kě shèng zhàn de jiāng jūn, yú shì jiù pài shǐ zhě xiàng zhào guó yì hé, liǎng guó zhī jiān zhōng yú dá chéng le hé píng xié yì.

During the Warring States Period, Zhao and Qin were sworn enemies. The people of the two countries also hated each other. Once, Qin sent troops to attack Zhao. Lian Po, a general of Zhao, led his troops to resist. The two sides fought fiercely for several months on the battlefield of Changping. In the end, Zhao was defeated, and Lian Po was dismissed for the defeat. The King of Zhao sent people to Qin to seek peace, but the King of Qin refused. The King of Qin said: “Lian Po will not die, Zhao will not surrender.” When Lian Po learned about this, he knew that he had become a thorn in the side of the King of Qin. To protect Zhao, he decided to take the initiative and lead the remaining troops of Zhao to fight to the death against the Qin army’s attack. In the end, Lian Po defeated the Qin army with fewer troops and saved Zhao’s territory. After the King of Qin learned that Lian Po was not dead and Zhao was not surrendering, he finally realized that Lian Po was an invincible general for Zhao. So he sent envoys to Zhao to negotiate peace, and the two countries finally reached a peace agreement.

Usage

这个成语通常用来形容两个势力之间的关系，表示他们之间的仇恨非常深，无法共存。

zhè ge chéng yǔ tóng cháng yòng lái xíng róng liǎng ge shì lì zhī jiān de guān xì, biǎo shì tā men zhī jiān de chóu hèn fēi cháng shēn, wú fǎ gòng cún.

This idiom is often used to describe the relationship between two forces, indicating that their hatred is so deep that they cannot coexist.

Examples

• 他们之间是不共戴天之仇。

  tā men zhī jiān shì bù gòng dài tiān zhī chóu.

  They are sworn enemies.

• 他俩曾经是不共戴天，如今却能握手言欢了

  tā liǎ céng jīng shì bù gòng dài tiān, rú jīn què néng wò shǒu yán huān le

  They were once sworn enemies, but now they can shake hands and make peace.

Related Idioms

• 深仇大恨

• 势不两立

• 刻骨仇恨

Opposite Idioms

• 相依为命

• 唇齿相依