招兵买马

招兵買馬

zhāobīng-mǎimǎ

idiom #38,132

Meanings

1 to recruit soldiers and buy horses (idiom)
2 to build up a force; to recruit staff; to staff up

Characters

Examples

HSK 5

这家创业公司正在大力招兵买马。

Zhè jiā chuàngyè gōngsī zhèngzài dàlì zhāobīng-mǎimǎ.

This startup is aggressively staffing up.

HSK 7-9

他打算自立门户，先招兵买马。

Tā dǎsuan zìlì-ménhù, xiān zhāobīng-mǎimǎ.

He plans to strike out on his own and assemble a team first.

Tips

history

From 《三国演义》 ch. 28 - Liu Bei 'sets up camp in Runan to recruit troops and horses (招兵买马), biding his time to advance.' Now metaphorical for any organization building up its workforce.

Stroke Order

招 zhāo

兵 bīng

买 mǎi

马 mǎ