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南征北戰

简南征北战 · 繁南征北戰

Mandarin · pinyin nán zhēng běi zhàn

war on all sides (idiom); fighting from all four quarters

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Characters in this entry

南: nán · south; southern part; southward
征: zhēng · invade, attack, conquer
北: běi · north; northern; northward
戰: Look up this written character
战: zhàn · war, fighting, battle

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

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Mandarin tones

2–1–3–4 · nan2 zheng1 bei3 zhan4

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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.

南征北戰 · find source passages ↗ · 南征北战 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

naam4 zing1 bak1 zin3

Cantonese word readings for 南征北戰. 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.

verb

to have engaged in many combats in various places

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

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