DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

大丈夫能屈能伸

Mandarin · pinyin dà zhàng fu néng qū néng shēn

A leader can submit or can stand tall as required.
ready to give and take
flexible

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

大: dà · big, great, vast, large, high
丈: zhàng · unit of length equal 3.3 meters; gentleman, man, husband
夫: fū · man, male adult, husband; those
能: néng · to be able; can, permitted to; ability
屈: qū · bend, flex; bent, crooked; crouch
伸: shēn · extend, stretch out, open up; trust

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–4–5–2–1–2–1 · da4 zhang4 fu5 neng2 qu1 neng2 shen1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

6character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

大丈夫能屈能伸 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

daai6 zoeng6 fu1 nang4 wat1 nang4 san1

Cantonese word readings for 大丈夫能屈能伸. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack