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先下手為強

简先下手为强 · 繁先下手為強

Mandarin · pinyin xiān xià shǒu wéi qiáng

(idiom) strike first to gain the upper hand

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Characters in this entry

先: xiān · first, former, previous
下: xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down
手: shǒu · hand
為: Look up this written character
強: qiáng · strong, powerful, energetic
为: wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be
强: qiáng · strong, powerful, energetic

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–4–3–2–2 · xian1 xia4 shou3 wei2 qiang2

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

sin1 haa6 sau2 wai4 koeng4

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) to strike first and gain the upper hand

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

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