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化敵為友

简 化敌为友 · 繁 化敵為友
Mandarin · pinyin huà dí wéi yǒu

Meanings

  1. to convert an enemy into a friend (idiom)
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Characters in this entry

化
huà · change, convert, reform; -ize
敵
Look up this written character
為
Look up this written character
友
yǒu · friend, companion; fraternity
敌
dí · enemy, foe, rival; resist
为
wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Entries containing 化敵為友 ↗Words written with 化 ↗Words written with 敵 ↗Words written with 為 ↗Words written with 友 ↗Words written with 敌 ↗Words written with 为 ↗

Mandarin tones

4–2–2–3 · hua4 di2 wei2 you3

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Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

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Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

faa3 dik6 wai4 jau5

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

  1. (idiomatic) to turn an enemy into a friend

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

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