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兩面三刀

简两面三刀 · 繁兩面三刀

Mandarin · pinyin liǎng miàn sān dāo

two-faced, three knives (idiom); double-cross
double dealing and back stabbing

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Characters in this entry

兩: liǎng · two, both, pair, couple; ounce
面: miàn · face; surface; plane; side, dimension; Kangxi radical 176
三: sān · three
刀: dāo · knife; old coin; measure
两: liǎng · two, both, pair, couple; ounce

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

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Mandarin tones

3–4–1–1 · liang3 mian4 san1 dao1

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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.

兩面三刀 · find source passages ↗ · 两面三刀 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

loeng5 min6 saam1 dou1

Cantonese word readings for 兩面三刀. 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) two-faced and backstabbing

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

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