DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

有的放矢

Mandarin · pinyin yǒu dì fàng shǐ

lit. to have a target in mind when shooting one's arrows (idiom)
fig. to have a clear objective

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

有: yǒu · have, own, possess; exist
的: de · possessive, adjectival suffix
放: fàng · put, release, free, liberate
矢: shǐ · arrow, dart; vow, swear

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3–4–4–3 · you3 di4 fang4 shi3

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character 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.

有的放矢 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to have a definite object in view; to have a definite objective in speech or action

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

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