以少胜多

以少勝多
yǐshǎo-shèngduō
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 to defeat the many with the few
  2. 2 to beat a larger side with a smaller one

Examples

HSK 2
Wǒmen rén shǎo, dàn yě néng yǐshǎo-shèngduō.
We have fewer people, but we can still beat a bigger side.
HSK 5
Tāmen zhǐ shèng shí ge rén, què yǐshǎo-shèngduō, yíng le duìshǒu.
Down to ten players, they still beat the side with more on the field.

Tips

history
A staple of battle narratives. The classic cases are 官渡之战 (200), 赤壁之战 (208) and 淝水之战 (383), each won by the smaller army. Today it is also said of sports teams and small companies.

Stroke Order

以 yǐ
少 shǎo
胜 shèng
多 duō