強龍不壓地頭蛇
简 强龙不压地头蛇 · 繁 強龍不壓地頭蛇Meanings
- lit. strong dragon cannot repress a snake (idiom); fig. a local gangster who is above the law
Characters in this entry
- 強
- qiáng · strong, powerful, energetic
- 龍
- Look up this written character
- 不
- bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
- 壓
- Look up this written character
- 地
- de · dì · earth; soil, ground; region
- 頭
- tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
- 蛇
- shé · snake
- 强
- qiáng · strong, powerful, energetic
- 龙
- lóng · dragon; symbolic of emperor
- 压
- yā · press; oppress; crush; pressure
- 头
- tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
2–2–4–1–4–2–2 · qiang2 long2 bu4 ya1 di4 tou2 she2
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
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.
強龍不壓地頭蛇 · find source passages ↗ · 强龙不压地头蛇 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
koeng4 lung4 bat1 aat3 dei6 tau4 se4
Cantonese word readings for 強龍不壓地頭蛇. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
proverb
- Even a powerful person cannot defeat a local bully.
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack