Effort & Endurance
臥薪嘗膽
와신상담
wò xīn cháng dǎn
Wa-sin-sang-dam
臥
누울 와
薪
섶 신
嘗
맛볼 상
膽
쓸개 담
Character by character
Meaning
Sleep on firewood and taste gall — endure any hardship to settle a score.
Origin
King Goujian of Yue, defeated by Wu, slept on brushwood and tasted gall while preparing his revenge.
How it is used
Describes years of preparation for a comeback after a heavy defeat.
Hanja臥薪嘗膽
Simplified卧薪尝胆
Korean reading와신상담
Pinyinwò xīn cháng dǎn
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does Wa-sin-sang-dam mean?
臥薪嘗膽 · Sleep on firewood and taste gall — endure any hardship to settle a score.
Q. Where does Wa-sin-sang-dam come from?
King Goujian of Yue, defeated by Wu, slept on brushwood and tasted gall while preparing his revenge.
Q. How is Wa-sin-sang-dam used?
Describes years of preparation for a comeback after a heavy defeat.
Idioms in the same group
愚公移山 U-gong-i-sanOld Man Yu moves the mountain — persistence accomplishes anything.磨斧作針 Ma-bu-jak-chimGrind an axe into a needle — dogged effort achieves even the impossible.螢雪之功 Hyeong-seol-ji-gongMerit earned reading by fireflies and snow-light — study achieved in hardship.切齒腐心 Jeol-chi-bu-simGrinding your teeth and letting your heart rot — nursing a grievance.百折不屈 Baek-jeol-bul-gulBroken a hundred times and still unbent.七顚八起 Chil-jeon-pal-giFall seven times, rise eight.
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.