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劍拔弩張

简剑拔弩张 · 繁劍拔弩張

Mandarin · pinyin jiàn bá nǔ zhāng

lit. with swords drawn and bows bent (idiom); fig. a state of mutual hostility
at daggers drawn

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Characters in this entry

劍: Look up this written character
拔: bá · uproot, pull out
弩: nǔ · cross-bow, bow; downward stroke
張: zhāng · stretch, extend, expand; sheet; 26th lunar mansion, determinative star υ¹ Hydrae
剑: jiàn · sword, dagger, saber
张: zhāng · stretch, extend, expand; sheet

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–3–1 · jian4 ba2 nu3 zhang1

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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.

劍拔弩張 · find source passages ↗ · 剑拔弩张 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gim3 bat6 nou5 zoeng1

Cantonese word readings for 劍拔弩張. 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) tense situation; ready to fight

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

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