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背水の陣 (haisuinojin) Japanese meaning: last stand | Kotomora
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試し
験けん
に
臨のぞ
ん
だ
。
He faced the exam with his back to the wall.
The company is making a last-ditch effort to develop a new product.
Kanji 陣 camp, battle array, ranks Related words 絶ぜっ 体たい 絶ぜつ 命めい 絶体絶命 describes a hopeless, desperate situation, while 背水の陣 emphasizes the resolve to fight with no way back.
乾けん 坤こん 一いっ 擲てき 乾坤一擲 is a decisive, all-or-nothing gamble, whereas 背水の陣 focuses on the forced, no-retreat stance.
Written forms 背はい 水すい の 陣じん
背はい 水すい 之の 陣じん
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form; 之 is an older character for の.
Etymology From a historical Chinese battle tactic where a general positioned his army with a river at their back, leaving no retreat and forcing them to fight to the death. The phrase entered Japanese as a four-character idiom.
