揭竿而起
jiē gān ér qǐ
to rise in revolt
Character by character
揭jiē
raise
raise
竿gān
a pole
a pole
而ér
and
and
起qǐ
rise
rise
Example
老百姓活不下去了，只好揭竿而起。
The people could no longer survive and had no choice but to rise up.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
Chen Sheng’s rebels had no banners, so they raised bamboo poles.
Learn this in Lesson 76 · HSK 6–7: 秦始皇与大一统 (The First Emperor)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. This lesson is free.
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