人為刀俎，我為魚肉

Chinese

man; person; people
because of; for; to
because of; for; to; act as; take...to be; to be; to do; to serve as; to become
 
 butcher's knife and chopping block; oppressor; persecutor I; me
because of; for; to
because of; for; to; act as; take...to be; to be; to do; to serve as; to become
 
 fish; flesh of fish; fish and meat
trad. (人為刀俎，我為魚肉) 人 為 刀俎 ， 我 為 魚肉
simp. (人为刀俎，我为鱼肉) 人 为 刀俎 ， 我 为 鱼肉
Literally: “to be the meat on somebody's chopping block”.

Etymology

From 《史記·項羽本紀》 (Records of the Grand Historian: Annals of Xiang Yu).

如今人方為刀俎，我為魚肉，何辭為？ [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
如今人方为刀俎，我为鱼肉，何辞为？ [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]
From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE
Rújīn rén fāng wéi dāozǔ, wǒ wéi yúròu, hé cí wéi? [Pinyin]
Now they are like the butcher's knife and chopping block, and we are like the fish and meat, what's the use of saying goodbye?

Pronunciation

Idiom

人為刀俎，我為魚肉

  1. (figuratively) to be at somebody's mercy
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