举足轻重
- Literal
- to lift a foot, light or heavy
- Figurative
- To carry decisive weight: someone's position or decision is enough on its own to tip the balance either way.
Where does 举足轻重 come from?
After the fall of Wang Mang, while Liu Xiu — the future Emperor Guangwu of the Han — and his rivals were fighting over the empire, Dou Rong governed the Hexi corridor in the northwest, with his own troops and a position squarely between the two camps. Guangwu wrote to win him over: as long as Shu and Han were at war with each other, the power lay in the general's hands, since one step to either side was enough to tip the scales. From that letter, preserved in Dou Rong's biography in the 《后汉书》, came the phrase that today describes whoever proves decisive without being the biggest or the loudest.
Source (出处): 《后汉书·窦融传》
How is 举足轻重 used? Two examples
- 他在公司里举足轻重，这事得先问他。
He carries decisive weight at the company; you have to run this by him first.
- 这几张票在这次投票中举足轻重。
These few votes are what will tip the whole vote one way or the other.
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