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大刀闊斧

简大刀阔斧 · 繁大刀闊斧

Mandarin · pinyin dà dāo kuò fǔ

bold and decisive

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Characters in this entry

大: dà · big, great, vast, large, high
刀: dāo · knife; old coin; measure
闊: Look up this written character
斧: fǔ · axe, hatchet; chop, hew
阔: kuò · broad, ample, wide; be apart

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

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Mandarin tones

4–1–4–3 · da4 dao1 kuo4 fu3

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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.

大刀闊斧 · find source passages ↗ · 大刀阔斧 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

daai6 dou1 fut3 fu2

Cantonese word readings for 大刀闊斧. 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

(idiomatic) to handle something with daring and resolve; to be bold and decisive when handling an issue; drastic

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

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