虛張聲勢
简 虚张声势 · 繁 虛張聲勢Meanings
- (idiom) to bluff; to bluster; to make an empty show of strength
Characters in this entry
- 虛
- Look up this written character
- 張
- zhāng · stretch, extend, expand; sheet; 26th lunar mansion, determinative star υ¹ Hydrae
- 聲
- shēng · sound, voice, noise; tone; music
- 勢
- Look up this written character
- 虚
- xū · false
- 张
- zhāng · stretch, extend, expand; sheet
- 声
- shēng · sound, voice, noise; tone; music
- 势
- shì · power, force; tendency
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
1–1–1–4 · xu1 zhang1 sheng1 shi4
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
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.
虛張聲勢 · find source passages ↗ · 虚张声势 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
heoi1 zoeng1 seng1 sai3
Cantonese word readings for 虛張聲勢. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
phrase
- (idiomatic) to bluff; to show false bravado; to make an empty show of strength
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack