諺語 · a single proverb
當機立斷
Simplified: 当机立断
What does 當機立斷 (dāng jī lì duàn) mean?
當機立斷 (dāng jī lì duàn) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "meeting the moment, decide at once." In use it means: When the decisive moment arrives, act without hesitation. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Metal note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Tiger.
Literally: "meeting the moment, decide at once."
The reading
You have rehearsed this choice a hundred times in the safety of your head. But the moment it truly arrives, thinking becomes a kind of flinching. There is an instant when the sword is already raised. Cut then, cleanly, before doubt talks you back down the stairs.
The story
The four-character form is traced by the Taiwan Ministry of Education idiom dictionary to Chen Lin, a writer of the Three Kingdoms period serving Wei, in his 答東阿王牋, where the original wording was 應機立斷, to meet the moment and cut at once. It describes the general's virtue of deciding in the instant the situation ripens, before deliberation curdles into hesitation.
When you catch yourself rehearsing a decision you have already made a dozen times, treat that as the signal, not the obstacle. The moment the situation is fully in front of you, cut cleanly and do not let a thirteenth rehearsal talk you back down the stairs.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Chen Lin 陳琳 (Three Kingdoms, Wei), 答東阿王牋 (originally 應機立斷); per Taiwan MOE 成語典
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Timing & Fortune's Turning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Tiger, Year of the Horse, and Year of the Rooster.
Questions
Is 當機立斷 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 當機立斷 (dāng jī lì duàn) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Chen Lin 陳琳 (Three Kingdoms, Wei), 答東阿王牋 (originally 應機立斷); per Taiwan MOE 成語典. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 當機立斷?
In Mandarin it is dāng jī lì duàn. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 當機立斷 aloud in Mandarin.