LookupMandarin · 繁體 · English

ChineseCharactersMeanings inMandarin–English · CC-CEDICTSources ↗

DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

枕戈待旦

Mandarin · pinyin zhěn gē dài dàn

lit. to wait for dawn, one's head resting on a spear (idiom)
fig. fully prepared and biding one's time before the battle

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

枕: zhěn · pillow
戈: gē · halberd, spear, lance; rad. 62
待: dài · treat, entertain, receive; wait
旦: dàn · dawn; morning; day

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3–1–4–4 · zhen3 ge1 dai4 dan4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character 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

zam3 gwo1 doi6 daan3

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) to be vigilant and ready for battle

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

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