People & Bonds
呉越同舟
오월동주
wú yuè tóng zhōu
O-wol-dong-ju
呉
나라 오
越
나라 월
同
같을 동
舟
배 주
Character by character
Meaning
Wu and Yue in the same boat — enemies forced to share a situation.
Origin
From Sun Tzu, on how even enemies help each other when the boat is about to capsize.
How it is used
Used when rival companies join on a single project.
Hanja呉越同舟
Simplified吴越同舟
Korean reading오월동주
Pinyinwú yuè tóng zhōu
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does O-wol-dong-ju mean?
呉越同舟 · Wu and Yue in the same boat — enemies forced to share a situation.
Q. Where does O-wol-dong-ju come from?
From Sun Tzu, on how even enemies help each other when the boat is about to capsize.
Q. How is O-wol-dong-ju used?
Used when rival companies join on a single project.
Idioms in the same group
管鮑之交 Gwan-po-ji-gyoThe friendship of Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya — friends who truly know each other.竹馬故友 Juk-ma-go-uAn old friend from bamboo-horse days — someone you grew up with.百年偕老 Baeng-nyeon-hae-roGrowing old together for a hundred years.同苦同樂 Dong-go-dong-nakSharing the hardship and the joy alike.人之常情 In-ji-sang-jeongThe ordinary feeling any human being would have.類類相從 Yu-yu-sang-jongLike follows like — similar people gather together.
The idioms used in Korea mix phrases from the Chinese classics with ones coined in Korea. Where an expression is not used in China, the entry says so.