成也萧何，败也萧何 in English cheng2 ye3 Xiao1 He2 , bai4 ye3 Xiao1 He2 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) raised up by Xiao He, cast down by Xiao He (idiomatic expression), alluding to Han Xin 韓信|韩信[Han2 Xin4] being made Grand General 大將軍|大将军[da4 jiang1 jun1]
  • metaphorically a situation where one's success and failure are both due to the same factor

Simplified Characters

成 也 萧 何 ， 败 也 萧 何

Traditional Characters

成 也 蕭 何 ， 敗 也 蕭 何

Pinyin

cheng2 ye3 Xiao1 He2 , bai4 ye3 Xiao1 He2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

成cheng2surname Cheng 也ye3surname Ye 萧xiao1surname Xiao 何he2surname He ， 败bai4to defeat 也ye3surname Ye 萧xiao1surname Xiao 何he2surname He