LookupMandarin · 繁體 · English

ChineseCharactersMeanings inMandarin–English · CC-CEDICTSources ↗

DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

劍拔弩張

简剑拔弩张 · 繁劍拔弩張

Mandarin · pinyin jiàn bá nǔ zhāng

lit. with swords drawn and bows bent (idiom); fig. a state of mutual hostility
at daggers drawn

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

劍: Look up this written character
拔: bá · uproot, pull out
弩: nǔ · cross-bow, bow; downward stroke
張: zhāng · stretch, extend, expand; sheet; 26th lunar mansion, determinative star υ¹ Hydrae
剑: jiàn · sword, dagger, saber
张: zhāng · stretch, extend, expand; sheet

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–2–3–1 · jian4 ba2 nu3 zhang1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gim3 bat6 nou5 zoeng1

Cantonese word readings for 劍拔弩張. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

gim3 bat6 nou5 zoeng1

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) tense situation; ready to fight

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

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