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爭先恐後

简争先恐后 · 繁爭先恐後

Mandarin · pinyin zhēng xiān kǒng hòu

(idiom) to compete to be first; to scramble to get ahead; to rush forward for fear of falling behind

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Characters in this entry

爭: Look up this written character
先: xiān · first, former, previous
恐: kǒng · fear; fearful, apprehensive
後: hòu · behind, rear, after; descendents
争: zhēng · dispute, fight, contend, strive
后: hòu · queen, empress, sovereign; (simp. for 後) behind, rear, after

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–3–4 · zheng1 xian1 kong3 hou4

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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.

爭先恐後 · find source passages ↗ · 争先恐后 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zang1 sin1 hung2 hau6

Cantonese word readings for 爭先恐後. 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 vie to be first and fear to be last

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

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