拔刀相助
bá dāo xiāng zhù
to step in and help someone in trouble
Character by character
拔bá
draw
draw
刀dāo
sword
sword
相xiāng
to him
to him
助zhù
help
help
Example
看到老人被人欺负，几个年轻人马上拔刀相助，把坏人赶走了。
Seeing an old man being bullied, a few young people stepped in at once and drove the bully off.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
Usually as 路见不平，拔刀相助 (see a wrong on the road, draw your sword to help), the creed of the Liangshan heroes. No sword is needed today: it praises anyone who steps in, and is said jokingly of a friend who helps out with a chore. 相 here points one way, at the person helped.
Learn this in Lesson 250 · HSK 9+: 梁山好汉的绰号 (The nicknames of the Water Margin heroes)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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