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按兵不動

简按兵不动 · 繁按兵不動

Mandarin · pinyin àn bīng bù dòng

to hold back one's troops without moving (idiom); to bide one's time

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Characters in this entry

按: àn · put hand on, press down with hand
兵: bīng · soldier, troops
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
動: dòng · move, happen; movement, action
动: dòng · move, happen; movement, action

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

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Mandarin tones

4–1–4–4 · an4 bing1 bu4 dong4

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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.

按兵不動 · find source passages ↗ · 按兵不动 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

on3 bing1 bat1 dung6

Cantonese word readings for 按兵不動. 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

(idiomatic) to temporarily stand down one's army (to wait and see how things develop)

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

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