披 荆 斩 棘

pī jīng zhǎn jídictionary entry

lit. to cut one's way through thistles and thorns (idiom) / fig. to overcome all obstacles on the way / to break through hardships / to blaze a new trail

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-d7ba75c3b1c8e699. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

披荊斬棘 披荆斩棘 [pi1 jing1 zhan3 ji2] /lit. to cut one's way through thistles and thorns (idiom)/fig. to overcome all obstacles on the way/to break through hardships/to blaze a new trail/

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: 披荊斬棘

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.