Chinese Text Project Dictionary

School of the Military -> The Art of War -> Weak Points and Strong -> 4

吾所與戰之地不可知，不可知，則敵所備者多，敵所備者多，則我所與戰者寡矣。	The spot where we intend to fight must not be made known; for then the enemy will have to prepare against a possible attack at several different points; and his forces being thus distributed in many directions, the numbers we shall have to face at any given point will be proportionately few.
故備前則後寡，備後則前寡，備左則右寡，備右則左寡，無所不備，則無所不寡。	For should the enemy strengthen his van, he will weaken his rear; should he strengthen his rear, he will weaken his van; should he strengthen his left, he will weaken his right; should he strengthen his right, he will weaken his left.
寡者，備人者也；眾者，使人備己者也。	If he sends reinforcements everywhere, he will everywhere be weak. Numerical weakness comes from having to prepare against possible attacks; numerical strength, from compelling our adversary to make these preparations against us.

Character	Composition	Variants	Reading	Meaning	Hanyu	Kangxi	Cihai
吾	口+4	𠮣	wú ㄨˊ	First person pronoun: I, we. / Defend, resist.	v1,p0585#13	p.180#03	p.260r5c01
			yú ㄩˊ	See 吾吾.
			yá ㄧㄚˊ	Yunyu, an ancient district.
所	戶+4	𢨷	suǒ ㄙㄨㄛˇ	Place. / Location. / A suitable place or location. / Measure word, used for counting buldings. / Used before a verb, creates a noun-like phrase. / If. Mainly used in oaths and curses. / Used together with 為 to indicate the passive tense. / Indicates an approximate number. / Number, number of times. / Meaning.	v3,p2259#01	p.415#16	p.556r1c01
與	臼+8	与𢌱𦦲𠔔	yǔ ㄩˇ	Give. / Follow, go along with. / Comrade, ally. / Association, contact. / Oppose. / Engage [an enemy]. / Approve, consent to. / Help. / Wait. / Preposition indicating passive tense. / Preposition: to, with. / Preposition: with. / Preposition: as. / Preposition: in, on. / Connective: and, with. / Connective: with its ... / Connective: or.	v1,p0251#04	p.1004#13	p.1113r2c03
			yù ㄩˋ	Participate, take part in.
			yǔ ㄩˇ	Interfere in.
			yú ㄩˊ	Auxiliary word: used at the end of a sentence to express questioning , exclamation, or a rhetorical question. / Auxiliary word: used in the middle of a sentence to express a pause.
戰	戈+12	戦战	zhàn ㄓㄢˋ	war, fighting, battle	v2,p1412#12	p.414#11	p.553r5c01
之	丿+3	㞢	zhī ㄓ	Towards; go to. / Demonstrative pronoun: this, these. / Third person pronoun: him, her, it. / Auxiliary word: of. / Auxiliary word: used between subject and predicate, cancels independence of a clause. / Auxiliary word: used in a sentence for aesthetic purpose only, no meaning.	v1,p0043#01	p.82#04	p.47r2c02
地	土+3	埊𨻐埅𠏂嶳	dì de ㄉㄧˋ ㄉㄜ·	earth; soil, ground; region	v1,p0420#12	p.224#06	p.312r6c01
不	一+3	不𠀚𠙐	bù ㄅㄨˋ	(3.1) 否定副詞：用於動詞、形容詞等前面，表示否定。 Negational adverb, used before verbs, adjectives, etc. to indicate negation.	v1,p0011#06	p.76#15	p.30r1c01
可	口+2	歌厥	kě kè ㄎㄜˇ ㄎㄜˋ	may, can, -able; possibly	v1,p0567#07	p.172#12	p.244r1c02
知	矢+3	𢇻𥎿	zhī ㄓ	Know, understand. / Perception. / Recognize. / Knowledge. / Know about, make sense of. / Be friendly with. / Control, get on top of.	v4,p2581#02	p.824#01	p.955r5c02
			zhì ㄓˋ	Wisdom.
則	刀+7	𠟻𠟭𠞋𠟔则	zé ㄗㄜˊ	Method, rule. / Mimic, emulate. / Level, grade. / Adverb used to emphasize an assertion. / Adverb used to express scope: only. / Connective expressing continuation: then, and then. / Connective emphasizing comparison. / Connective expressing contrast. / Connective expressing allowance: yet, even so. / Connective expressing unexpected turn of events. / Connective expressing suppostion: if.	v1,p0340#06	p.139#31	p.183r5c05
敵	攴+11	敌	dí ㄉㄧˊ	enemy, foe, rival; resist	v2,p1475#04	p.474#48	p.607r1c02
備	人+10	𠈍俻备	bèi ㄅㄟˋ	prepare, ready, perfect	v1,p0200#08	p.113#21	p.121r3c02
者	老+4		zhě ㄓㄜˇ	Pronoun used after verbs, adjectives, etc. in place of a person or thing. / Pronoun used after numbers in place of a thing. / Pronoun used after time or negation to express "when" or "if". / Expressive particle used in a declarative sentence after the subject. / Expressive particle used in a sentence after the subject to express cause or explanation.	v4,p2780#05	p.961#01	p.1080r1c01
			zhuó ㄓㄨㄛˊ	In, located in.
多	夕+3	夛𡖇𡖈	duō ㄉㄨㄛ	much, many; more than, over	v2,p0862#02	p.246#11	p.339r4c01
我	戈+3	𠨂𢦓𢦠	wǒ ㄨㄛˇ	First-person pronoun: I. / One's own side in general. / Expresses closeness. / Egoism, self-involvement.	v2,p1401#02	p.412#01	p.552r1c01
寡	宀+11	關	guǎ ㄍㄨㄚˇ	Few. / Lack, reduce. / A widow; be widowed. / A widower or unmarried man. / Modest way of referring to oneself used by rulers.	v2,p0947#07	p.290#19	p.427r2c02
矣	矢+2	𠤘	yǐ ㄧˇ	Modal particle used to express declaration. / Modal particle used to express exclamation. / Modal particle used to express an order or request.	v4,p2580#04	p.823#37	p.955r5c01
故	攴+5		gù ㄍㄨˋ	Cause. / State of affairs. / Event, incident. / Plot. / Old. / Past, original. / Death. / On purpose. / Originally. / Hence, thus.	v2,p1453#05	p.469#25	p.601r5c01
前	刀+7	歬𣦃	qián ㄑㄧㄢˊ	in front, forward; preceding	v1,p0248#04	p.140#15	p.184r4c01
後	彳+6	𨒥𢔏后	hòu ㄏㄡˋ	Behind, to the rear of. / To be left behind. / Later in time. / Future. / Descendents, offspring.	v2,p0822#03	p.366#18	p.511r2c01
左	工+2		zuǒ ㄗㄨㄛˇ	left; east; unorthodox, improper	v1,p0411#05	p.325#08	p.464r2c01
右	口+2		yòu ㄧㄡˋ	right; west; right-wing	v1,p0569#01	p.173#05	p.245r6c01
無	火+8	𣟒𣚨𠘩无橆	wú ㄨˊ	Not have. / Philosophical category referring to absence, non-existence, or vacuity. / Adverb expressing negation: not. / Adverb expressing questioning: or not. / Connective: regardless of. / Connective: even if. / Particle used at the beginning of a sentence, no meaning. / Do not. / Barren, uncultivated.	v3,p2211#15	p.673#26	p.848r2c04
不	一+3	不𠀚𠙐	bù ㄅㄨˋ	Not have. / To not be. / Negational adverb, used before verbs, adjectives, etc. to indicate negation. / Negational adverb expressing prohibition: do not. / Negational adverb expressing rhetorical question: is not...?	v1,p0011#06	p.76#15	p.30r1c01
			fǒu ㄈㄡˇ	Same as 「否(1.2)」 fǒu ㄈㄡˇ: Adverb used together with an affirmative word, expressing its negative or opposite. / Same as 「否(1.3)」 fǒu ㄈㄡˇ: Adverb used at the end of a question to form a yes-no question.
			fū ㄈㄨ	Sepal of a flower.
			pī ㄆㄧ	Same as 「丕(1)」 pī ㄆㄧ: Large.
			bǐ ㄅㄧˇ	Show disdain for.
人	人+0	𠔽亻	rén ㄖㄣˊ	Man, person. / Others, other people. / The people, ordinary men. / Talent, material. / [A man's] character. / Affairs of men, world of man. / Benevolence.	v1,p0101#10	p.91#01	p.80r2c01
也	乙+2	𠃟匜	yě ㄧㄝˇ	Modal particle used at the end of a sentence, expressing assertion and affirmation. / Modal particle used at the end of a question for emphasis. / Modal particle used at the end of a cause-effect sentence to express explanation. / Modal particle used in the middle of a sentence to express a pause.	v1,p0050#05	p.84#04	p.55r1c01
眾	目+6	衆𠂝𥅫𠱧众	zhòng ㄓㄨㄥˋ	masses, people, multitude, crowd	v4,p2917#04	p.807#15	p.951r1c02
使	人+6	𡥐𠭆	shǐ ㄕˇ	Order, send (on a mission). / Cause, make. / Allocate, use. / Indulge in.. / Send as an envoy. / Envoy, messenger. / Connective: if, supposing.	v1,p0145#02	p.101#05	p.101r3c03
己	己+0	𢀒	jǐ ㄐㄧˇ	self, oneself; personal, private; 6th heavenly stem	v2,p0983#05	p.326#09	p.467r2c01

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