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發威

简发威 · 繁發威

Mandarin · pinyin fā wēi

to unleash one's power; (of an animal) to go on a rampage; (of a typhoon, earthquake etc) to wreak havoc; (of a figure of authority) to erupt in anger; to assert one's dominance

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Characters in this entry

發: fā · issue, dispatch, send out, emit
威: wēi · pomp, power; powerful; dominate
发: fā · issue, dispatch, send out; hair

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1 · fa1 wei1

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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.

發威 · find source passages ↗ · 发威 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

faat3 wai1

Cantonese word readings for 發威. 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

to display one's prowess; to throw one's weight around

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

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