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臨陣磨槍

简临阵磨枪 · 繁臨陣磨槍

Mandarin · pinyin lín zhèn mó qiāng

(lit.) to sharpen one's spear only before going into battle (idiom)
(fig.) to make preparations only at the last moment

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Characters in this entry

臨: Look up this written character
陣: Look up this written character
磨: mó · grind; polish; rub; wear out; a millstone
槍: Look up this written character
临: lín · draw near, approach; descend
阵: zhèn · column, row or file of troops
枪: qiāng · spear, lance; gun, rifle

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

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Mandarin tones

2–4–2–1 · lin2 zhen4 mo2 qiang1

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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.

臨陣磨槍 · find source passages ↗ · 临阵磨枪 · 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 prepare at the last moment

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

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