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張牙舞爪

简张牙舞爪 · 繁張牙舞爪

Mandarin · pinyin zhāng yá wǔ zhǎo

to bare fangs and brandish claws (idiom); to make threatening gestures

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Characters in this entry

張: zhāng · stretch, extend, expand; sheet; 26th lunar mansion, determinative star υ¹ Hydrae
牙: yá · tooth, molars, teeth; serrated
舞: wǔ · dance, posture, prance; brandish
爪: zhǎo · claw, nail, talon; animal feet
张: zhāng · stretch, extend, expand; sheet

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–3–3 · zhang1 ya2 wu3 zhao3

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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.

張牙舞爪 · find source passages ↗ · 张牙舞爪 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zoeng1 ngaa4 mou5 zaau2

Cantonese word readings for 張牙舞爪. 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

(of a beast) to be ferocious
(of a person, figurative) to act savagely and threateningly

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

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