左右開弓

简 左右开弓 · 繁 左右開弓
Mandarin · pinyin zuǒ yòu kāi gōng

Meanings

  1. lit. to shoot from both sides (idiom)
  2. fig. to display ambidexterity
  3. to slap with one hand and then the other, in quick succession
  4. to use both feet equally (football)
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Characters in this entry

左
zuǒ · left; east; unorthodox, improper
右
yòu · right; west; right-wing
開
kāi · open; initiate, begin, start
弓
gōng · bow; curved, arched; Kangxi radical 57
开
kāi · open; initiate, begin, start
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–4–1–1 · zuo3 you4 kai1 gong1

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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.

左右開弓 · find source passages ↗ · 左右开弓 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zo2 jau6 hoi1 gung1

Cantonese word readings for 左右開弓. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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

左右開弓 · zuo3 you4 kai1 gong1
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 36,549
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record左右開弓 左右开弓 [zuo3 you4 kai1 gong1] /lit. to shoot from both sides (idiom)/fig. to display ambidexterity/to slap with one hand and then the other, in quick succession/to use both feet equally (football)/