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收兵

Mandarin · pinyin shōu bīng

to retreat
to withdraw troops
to recall troops
fig. to finish work
to wind up
to call it a day
used with negatives: the task is far from over

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Characters in this entry

收: shōu · gather together, collect; harvest
兵: bīng · soldier, troops

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1 · shou1 bing1

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sau1 bing1

Cantonese word readings for 收兵. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

verb

(literary) to retreat (an army); to withdraw one’s forces
(figurative) to wind up; to conclude; to bring to a close
(Hong Kong, slang, neologism) to attract members of the opposite sex so that they would do anything to pursue you

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

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