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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

捲土重來

/t͡ɕy̯ɛn²¹⁴⁻³⁵ tʰu²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʰʊŋ³⁵ laɪ̯³⁵/
to stage a comeback after regaining one's strength
  • 卷土重來
  • 卷土重来
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The phrase describes the massive clouds of dust rolled up by galloping horses as they charge forward once more.
The phrase describes the massive clouds of dust rolled up by galloping horses as they charge forward once more.

Origin

The phrase 捲土重來 was first attested in 841 in Du Mu's poem *On the Pavilion by the Wu River*. It is composed of four characters: 捲, meaning to roll, roll up, or curl; 土, meaning earth or soil; 重, meaning heavy; and 來, meaning to come or arrive.

In the context of the phrase, 捲土 describes the dust raised when people and horses run, while 重來 refers to rushing or pouncing forward again. It serves as a metaphor for regaining strength to attempt something again after a failure, or for restoring a previous state of affairs or influence.

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

Lineage

  • characterChinese捲 “to roll; to roll up; to curl”
    • meaningChinese手 “hand (Classifier: 隻／只 m c mn; 雙／双 m mn; 對／对 c)”
    • soundChinese卷 “reel of books”
  • characterChinese土 “earth; soil”
  • characterChinese重 “heavy”
    • meaningChinese人 “man; person; people (Classifier: 個／个 m c; 隻／只 h)”
    • soundChinese東 “east”
  • characterChinese來 “to come; to arrive”
Wiktionary etymology text

First attested in 841 in Du Mu's famous poem On the Pavilion by the Wu River

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Meanings

phrase
  1. to stage a comeback after regaining one's strength

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 捲土，人馬奔跑時揚起塵土；重來，重新猛撲過來。捲土重來比喻事情失敗後，重組力量，再次來過。 例：今年考試失利，明年捲土重來。
  2. 亦比喻失敗後，重新恢復舊有的局面、勢力。 例：商場得失本無定，只要有恆心毅力，幾年之後必可捲土重來，恢復舊觀。

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

Sources

  • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Wiktionary: 捲土重來