Chinese word

任人宰割

Pronunciation

Pinyinrèn rén zǎi gē

Meaning

  • idiombe at the mercy of others

Example

她不想再任人宰割。tā bù xiǎng zài rèn rén zǎi gē

She does not want to be at the mercy of others anymore.

Illustration for 任人宰割 (be at the mercy of others)

More examples

在国际谈判中，小国不能被大国任人宰割。zài guó jì tán pàn zhōng xiǎo guó bù néng bèi dà guó rèn rén zǎi gē

In international negotiations, small countries cannot be at the mercy of big countries.

Core concept

A person is treated as having no say in what happens next, while others decide and act for them.

Common phrases

  • 不能被任人宰割bù néng bèi rèn rén zǎi gē

    cannot be at the mercy of others

  • 被别人任人宰割bèi bié rén rèn rén zǎi gē

    be at the mercy of others

Similar words

任人摆布rèn rén bǎi bù: Being made to do what others want, without freedom to act independently.
人为刀俎，我为鱼肉rén wéi dāo zǔ wǒ wèi yú ròu: Being helpless in another person's hands, with no way to fight back.
任人支配rèn rén zhī pèi: Being ruled by others so that personal actions and decisions are no longer free.

Definition in Chinese

被动地任凭别人支配和处置，处于无力反抗的地位。bèi dòng dì rèn píng bié rén zhī pèi hé chǔ zhì chǔ yú wú lì fǎn kàng de dì wèi

Word origin

任 (rèn, "let") + 人 (rén, "people") + 宰 (zǎi, "butcher") + 割 (gē, "cut") literally evokes letting others butcher and cut someone up, giving the idiom its sense of helpless submission.

Usage tips

  • The idiom suits serious complaints about outside control rather than small everyday choices made by someone else, because its tone is strong and dramatic.

Other meanings

  • leave one's fate to othersidiom
  • be controlled by othersidiom

Opposites

Word lists with this word