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回馬槍

简回马枪 · 繁回馬槍

Mandarin · pinyin huí mǎ qiāng

sudden thrust (that catches the opponent off guard)

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Characters in this entry

回: huí · return, turn around; a time
馬: Look up this written character
槍: Look up this written character
马: mǎ · horse; surname; Kangxi radical 187
枪: qiāng · spear, lance; gun, rifle

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

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Mandarin tones

2–3–1 · hui2 ma3 qiang1

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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.

回馬槍 · find source passages ↗ · 回马枪 · find source passages ↗

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

wui4 maa5 coeng1

Cantonese word readings for 回馬槍. 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.

noun

(chiefly in historical fictions) a surprise counterattack performed by a retreating cavalryman
a sudden returning (to the previous location, or resuming a previous progress)

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

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