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空城計

简空城计 · 繁空城計

Mandarin · pinyin kōng chéng jì

the empty city stratagem (in which Zhuge Liang presents himself as unperturbed while making it evident that his city is undefended, hoping his adversary will suspect an ambush); double bluff

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Characters in this entry

空: kōng · empty, hollow, bare, deserted
城: chéng · castle; city, town; municipality
計: Look up this written character
计: jì · plan, plot; stratagem; scheme

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4 · kong1 cheng2 ji4

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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

Empty Fort Strategy (strategy to deceive the enemy into thinking that an empty location is full of traps and ambushes)
(figurative) hungry stomach

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

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