DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
勝者王侯敗者賊
简 胜者王侯败者贼 · 繁 勝者王侯敗者賊Mandarin · pinyin shèng zhě wáng hóu bài zhě zéi
Meanings
Characters in this entry
- 勝
- shèng · victory; excel, be better than
- 者
- zhě · that which; he who; those who
- 王
- wáng · king, ruler; royal; surname
- 侯
- hóu · marquis, lord; target in archery
- 敗
- Look up this written character
- 賊
- Look up this written character
- 胜
- shèng · victory; excel, be better than
- 败
- bài · be defeated, decline, fail
- 贼
- zéi · thief, traitor; kill
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
4–3–2–2–4–3–2 · sheng4 zhe3 wang2 hou2 bai4 zhe3 zei2
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
7character links1source reference
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
proverb
- synonym of 成者為王，敗者為寇 /成者为王，败者为寇 (chéng zhě wéi wáng, bài zhě wéi kòu, “Legitimacy belongs to the victor; might makes right; Used to mean a person is judged solely on whether they succeeded or failed”)
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack