反 败 为 胜

fǎn bài wéi shèngdictionary entry

to turn defeat into victory (idiom) / to turn the tide

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-1fd0d5050c3bd1b8. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

反敗為勝反败为胜 [fan3 bai4 wei2 sheng4] /to turn defeat into victory (idiom); to turn the tide/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 反敗為勝

反
fǎn
contrary / in reverse / inside out or upside down / to reverse / to return / to oppose / opposite / against / anti- / to rebel / to use analogy / instead / abbr. for 反切[fǎn qiè] phonetic system
败
bài
to defeat / to damage / to lose (to an opponent) / to fail / to wither
为
wéi
as (in the capacity of) / to take sth as / to act as / to serve as / to behave as / to become / to be / to do / by (in the passive voice)
wèi
because of / for / to
胜
shèng
victory / success / to beat / to defeat / to surpass / victorious / superior to / to get the better of / better than / surpassing / superb (of vista) / beautiful (scenery) / wonderful (view) / (Taiwan pr. [shēng]) able to bear / equal to (a task)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.