DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

先下手為強

简先下手为强 · 繁先下手為強

Mandarin · pinyin xiān xià shǒu wéi qiáng

(idiom) strike first to gain the upper hand

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

先: xiān · first, former, previous
下: xià · under, underneath, below; down; inferior; bring down
手: shǒu · hand
為: Look up this written character
強: qiáng · strong, powerful, energetic
为: wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be
强: qiáng · strong, powerful, energetic

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–4–3–2–2 · xian1 xia4 shou3 wei2 qiang2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

6character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

先下手為強 · find source passages ↗ · 先下手为强 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) to strike first and gain the upper hand

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

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