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劈頭蓋臉

简劈头盖脸 · 繁劈頭蓋臉

Mandarin · pinyin pī tóu gài liǎn

lit. splitting the head and covering the face (idiom); fig. pelting (with rain etc)
showering down

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Characters in this entry

劈: pī · cut apart, split, chop
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
蓋: Look up this written character
臉: liǎn · face; cheek; reputation
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
盖: gài · cover, hide, protect
脸: liǎn · face; cheek; reputation

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4–3 · pi1 tou2 gai4 lian3

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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.

劈頭蓋臉 · find source passages ↗ · 劈头盖脸 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

pek3 tau4 goi3 lim5

Cantonese word readings for 劈頭蓋臉. 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) to one's face; directly towards someone

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

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