DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
以子之矛，攻子之盾
Mandarin · pinyin yǐ zǐ zhī máo , gōng zǐ zhī dùn
Meanings
- lit. use sb's spear to attack his shield (idiom, derived from Han Feizi 韓非子); turning a weapon against its owner
- fig. to attack an opponent using his own devices
- hoist with his own petard
Characters in this entry
- 以
- yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
- 子
- zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
- 之
- zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
- 矛
- máo · spear, lance; Kangxi radical 110
- 攻
- gōng · attack, assault; criticize
- 盾
- dùn · shield, shield-shaped object; currency sign for Dutch guilder
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Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading
ji5 zi2 zi1 maau4 ，gung1 zi2 zi1 teon5
Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.