势不可当 shì bù kě dāng unstoppable

Explanation

形容来势非常猛烈，无法抵挡。

Describes something that is advancing with great force and irresistibility.

Origin Story

话说三国时期，蜀汉丞相诸葛亮率领大军北伐，势如破竹，一路势不可当，曹魏军队节节败退。面对蜀军的凌厉攻势，曹魏将领司马懿采取了坚壁清野的策略，避免与蜀军进行正面冲突。诸葛亮虽然用尽了计谋，但始终无法突破司马懿的防线。最终，因为粮草供应不上，北伐不得不暂时停止。诸葛亮的北伐虽然未能最终成功，但也显示了蜀汉军队的强大实力和势不可当的进攻气势。这场战争也成为了中国历史上以少胜多，以弱胜强的经典战例之一。

shuō huà sān guó shíqí, shǔ hàn chéngxiàng zhū gě liàng shuài lǐng dà jūn běi fá, shì rú pò zhú, yī lù shì bù kě dāng, cáo wèi jūnduì jié jié bài tuì. miàn duì shǔ jūn de líng lì gōngshì, cáo wèi jiàng lǐng sī mǎ yì cǎi qǔ le jiānbì qīng yě de cèlüè, bìmiǎn yǔ shǔ jūn jìnxíng zhèngmiàn chōng tū. zhū gě liàng suīrán yòng jìn le jìmóu, dàn shǐzhōng wúfǎ tú pò sī mǎ yì de fángxiàn. zuìzhōng, yīnwèi liáng cǎo gōngyìng bù shàng, běi fá bùdé bù zànshí tíngzhǐ. zhū gě liàng de běi fá suīrán wèi néng zuìzhōng chénggōng, dàn yě xǐnshì le shǔ hàn jūnduì de qiángdà shílì hé shì bù kě dāng de jìngōng qìshì. zhè chǎng zhànzhēng yě chéngwéi le zhōngguó lìshǐ shàng yǐ shǎo shèng duō, yǐ ruò shèng qiáng de jīngdiǎn zhànlì zhī yī.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of Shu Han, led a large army on a northern expedition. The army was so powerful that it was unstoppable, and the Cao Wei army retreated repeatedly. Faced with the fierce offensive of the Shu army, Sima Yi, a Cao Wei general, adopted a scorched-earth policy, avoiding direct conflict with the Shu army. Although Zhuge Liang used all his strategies, he was unable to break through Sima Yi's defense line. Finally, because of the shortage of supplies, the northern expedition had to be temporarily stopped. Although Zhuge Liang's northern expedition was not ultimately successful, it demonstrated the strong strength of the Shu Han army and its unstoppable offensive momentum. This war has also become one of the classic examples in Chinese history of a smaller force defeating a larger one and the weak defeating the strong.

Usage

作谓语、定语；形容来势迅猛，不可抵挡。

zuò wèiyǔ, dìngyǔ; xíngróng lái shì xùnměng, bù kě dǐdàng

Used as predicate or attributive; describes something whose onslaught is swift and unstoppable.

Examples

• 这场战争，敌军来势汹汹，势不可当。

  zhe chang zhanzheng, dijun laishi xiongxiong, shi bu ke dang

  In this war, the enemy army was fierce and unstoppable.

• 改革开放的浪潮，势不可当，谁也阻挡不了。

  gaige kaifang de langchao, shi bu ke dang, shei ye zudang buliao

  The wave of reform and opening up is unstoppable, and no one can stop it.

Related Idioms

• 不可一世

• 势如破竹

• 锐不可当

Opposite Idioms

• 势微

• 衰败

• 溃败