單槍匹馬

简 单枪匹马 · 繁 單槍匹馬
Mandarin · pinyin dān qiāng pǐ mǎ

Meanings

  1. (idiom) single-handed; on one's own
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Characters in this entry

單
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槍
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匹
pǐ · bolt of cloth; counter for horses
馬
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单
dān · single, individual, only; lone
枪
qiāng · spear, lance; gun, rifle
马
mǎ · horse; surname; Kangxi radical 187
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–1–3–3 · dan1 qiang1 pi3 ma3

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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.

單槍匹馬 · find source passages ↗ · 单枪匹马 · find source passages ↗

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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

  1. (idiomatic) single-handed; unassisted

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

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