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一針見血

简一针见血 · 繁一針見血

Mandarin · pinyin yī zhēn jiàn xiě

lit. to draw blood on the first prick (idiom)
fig. to hit the nail on the head

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Characters in this entry

一: yī · one; a, an; alone
針: Look up this written character
見: jiàn · see, observe, behold; perceive; Kangxi radical 147
血: xuè · blood; Kangxi radical 143
针: zhēn · needle; pin; tack; acupuncture
见: jiàn · see, observe, behold; perceive

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–4–3 · yi1 zhen1 jian4 xie3

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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.

一針見血 · find source passages ↗ · 一针见血 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jat1 zam1 gin3 hyut3

Cantonese word readings for 一針見血. 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.

phrase

(idiomatic) hit the nail on the head

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

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