擒賊擒王
简 擒贼擒王 · 繁 擒賊擒王Meanings
- (idiom) to defeat the enemy by capturing their leader
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Mandarin tones
2–2–2–2 · qin2 zei2 qin2 wang2
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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.
擒賊擒王 · find source passages ↗ · 擒贼擒王 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
kam4 caak6 kam4 wong4
Cantonese word readings for 擒賊擒王. 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) If you want to round up a gang, you must get its chief first; To defeat the enemy, first capture their chief; to defeat the enemy by capturing their chief first
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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