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發號施令

简发号施令 · 繁發號施令

Mandarin · pinyin fā hào shī lìng

to boss people around (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

發: fā · issue, dispatch, send out, emit
號: Look up this written character
施: shī · grant, bestow; give; act; name
令: lìng · command, order; 'commandant', magistrate; allow, cause
发: fā · issue, dispatch, send out; hair
号: hào · mark, sign; symbol; number

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

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Mandarin tones

1–4–1–4 · fa1 hao4 shi1 ling4

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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.

發號施令 · find source passages ↗ · 发号施令 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

faat3 hou6 si1 ling6

Cantonese word readings for 發號施令. 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 issue orders
(figuratively) to boss people around

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

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