The New Dictionary.
Search dictionary
Chinese/Dictionary entry

寡不敌众

guǎ bù dí zhòngdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
the few are no match for the many / heavily outnumbered / facing impossible odds (idiom)
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-66491942a667729e. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

寡不敵眾 寡不敌众 [gua3 bu4 di2 zhong4] /the few are no match for the many/heavily outnumbered/facing impossible odds (idiom)/

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: 寡不敵眾

  • 寡
    guǎ

    few / scant / widowed

  • 不
    bù

    no / not so / (bound form) not / un-

  • 敌
    dí

    (bound form) enemy / (bound form) to be a match for / to rival / (bound form) to resist / to withstand

  • 众
    zhòng

    (bound form) crowd / multitude / (bound form) many / numerous

    Zhòng

    abbr. for 眾議院|众议院[Zhòng yì yuàn], House of Representatives

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.