两 肋 插 刀

liǎng lèi chā dāodictionary entry

(lit.) to take knives in both sides (idiom) / (fig.) to go to any lengths for a friend / to sacrifice oneself out of loyalty

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-f17c9dcbd290fb7a. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

兩肋插刀 两肋插刀 [liang3 lei4 cha1 dao1] /(lit.) to take knives in both sides (idiom)/(fig.) to go to any lengths for a friend; to sacrifice oneself out of loyalty/

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: 兩肋插刀

两
liǎng
two / both / some / a few / tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤[jīn] (old)
肋
lèi
(bound form) rib / Taiwan pr. [lè]
插
chā
to insert / stick in / pierce / to take part in / to interfere / to interpose
刀
dāo
knife / blade / single-edged sword / cutlass (CL:把[bǎ]) / (slang) (loanword) dollar / classifier for sets of one hundred sheets (of paper) / classifier for knife cuts or stabs / (Internet slang) to bargain / to ask for a small discount (esp. on second-hand marketplaces) / (Internet slang) to knife (sb) (often used hyperbolically, as in 想刀他[xiǎng dāo tā] "I could kill him!")
Dāo
surname Dao

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.