大搖大擺

简 大摇大摆 · 繁 大搖大擺
Mandarin · pinyin dà yáo dà bǎi

Meanings

  1. to strut
  2. swaggering
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Characters in this entry

大
dà · big, great, vast, large, high
搖
yáo · wag, swing, wave; shake; scull
擺
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摇
yáo · wag, swing, wave; shake; scull
摆
bǎi · put, place; display; swing, sway
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4–3 · da4 yao2 da4 bai3

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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.

大搖大擺 · find source passages ↗ · 大摇大摆 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

daai6 jiu4 daai6 baai2

Cantonese word readings for 大搖大擺. 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

  1. (idiomatic) walking with an air of arrogance and nonchalance

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

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