胸有成略

Mandarin · pinyin xiōng yǒu chéng lüè

Meanings

  1. the hero has plans already laid (idiom); to have plans ready in advance
  2. forewarned is forearmed
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Characters in this entry

胸
xiōng · breast, bosom, chest; thorax
有
yǒu · have, own, possess; exist
成
chéng · completed, finished, fixed
略
lüè · approximately, roughly; outline
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–3–2–4 · xiong1 you3 cheng2 lu:e4

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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.

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

hung1 jau5 sing4 loek6

Cantonese word readings for 胸有成略. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

胸有成略 · xiong1 you3 cheng2 lu:e4
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 90,539
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record胸有成略 胸有成略 [xiong1 you3 cheng2 lu:e4] /the hero has plans already laid (idiom); to have plans ready in advance/forewarned is forearmed/