DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

投筆從戎

简投笔从戎 · 繁投筆從戎

Mandarin · pinyin tóu bǐ cóng róng

to lay down the pen and take up the sword (idiom)
to join the military (esp. of educated person)

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

投: tóu · throw, cast, fling, pitch; jump
筆: bǐ · writing brush; write; stroke
從: cóng · from, by, since, whence, through
戎: róng · arms, armaments; military affair
笔: bǐ · writing brush; write; stroke
从: cóng · from, by, since, whence, through

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2–3–2–2 · tou2 bi3 cong2 rong2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

6character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

投筆從戎 · find source passages ↗ · 投笔从戎 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

tau4 bat1 cung4 jung4

Cantonese word readings for 投筆從戎. 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.

phrase

(of a scholar) to join the military

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack