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下馬威

简 下马威 · 繁 下馬威
Mandarin · pinyin xià mǎ wēi

Meanings

  1. display of severity immediately on taking office
  2. (fig.) initial show of strength
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Characters in this entry

下
xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down
馬
Look up this written character
威
wēi · pomp, power; powerful; dominate
马
mǎ · horse; surname; Kangxi radical 187
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Entries containing 下馬威 ↗Words written with 下 ↗Words written with 馬 ↗Words written with 威 ↗Words written with 马 ↗

Mandarin tones

4–3–1 · xia4 ma3 wei1

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

haa6 maa5 wai1

Cantonese word readings for 下馬威. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

  1. (figurative, historical) display of power immediately upon assuming office (in order to warn against insubordination)
  2. (figurative) initial show of strength; display of strength at the first encounter

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack