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腹背受敵

简腹背受敌 · 繁腹背受敵

Mandarin · pinyin fù bèi shòu dí

(idiom) to be attacked from the front and rear

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Characters in this entry

腹: fù · stomach, belly, abdomen; inside
背: bèi · back; back side; behind; betray
受: shòu · receive, accept, get; bear, stand
敵: Look up this written character
敌: dí · enemy, foe, rival; resist

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Mandarin tones

4–4–4–2 · fu4 bei4 shou4 di2

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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.

腹背受敵 · find source passages ↗ · 腹背受敌 · find source passages ↗

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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 be attacked from the front and rear

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

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