以邻为壑
yǐ lín wéi hè
to shift one’s troubles onto one’s neighbours; beggar-thy-neighbour
Character by character
以yǐ
take
take
邻lín
neighbour
neighbour
为wéi
as
as
壑hè
gully
gully
Example
把污水排到下游的村子里，这种以邻为壑的做法迟早要出问题。
Pouring sewage into the villages downstream is a beggar-thy-neighbour practice that will cause trouble sooner or later.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
From 《孟子·告子下》: Mencius told a minister who boasted of his flood control that the great Yu had led the water into the sea, while he had made the neighbouring states his drain (以邻国为壑). Economists use it for policies that help one country at others’ cost, as in 以邻为壑的贸易政策.
Learn this in Lesson 191 · HSK 7–9: 光伏反倾销案 (The solar panel dumping case)
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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