DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
投筆從戎
简 投笔从戎 · 繁 投筆從戎Mandarin · pinyin tóu bǐ cóng róng
Meanings
- to lay down the pen and take up the sword (idiom)
- to join the military (esp. of educated person)
Characters in this entry
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
2–3–2–2 · tou2 bi3 cong2 rong2
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
6character links
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
tau4 bat1 cung4 jung4
Cantonese word readings for 投筆從戎. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
tau4 bat1 cung4 jung4
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
- (of a scholar) to join the military
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack