劍走偏鋒
简 剑走偏锋 · 繁 劍走偏鋒Meanings
- the sword moves with side stroke (modern idiom)
- fig. unexpected winning move
- unconventional gambit
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Mandarin tones
4–3–1–1 · jian4 zou3 pian1 feng1
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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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.
劍走偏鋒 · find source passages ↗ · 剑走偏锋 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
gim3 zau2 pin1 fung1
Cantonese word readings for 劍走偏鋒. 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
- (martial arts) to use a sword with fast, flexible and unexpected movements
- (figuratively) to break the normal procedure and find a new or different solution in order to be unexpected and novelty
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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