DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

槍桿子

简枪杆子 · 繁槍桿子

Mandarin · pinyin qiāng gǎn zi

gun barrel

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

槍: Look up this written character
桿: Look up this written character
子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch
枪: qiāng · spear, lance; gun, rifle
杆: gān · pole; shaft of spear

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–3–5 · qiang1 gan3 zi5

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

3character 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.

槍桿子 · find source passages ↗ · 枪杆子 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

noun

(literally) barrel of a gun
(figuratively) arms; armed forces

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

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