DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

走馬上任

简走马上任 · 繁走馬上任

Mandarin · pinyin zǒu mǎ shàng rèn

(idiom) to take office; to assume a post

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

走: zǒu · walk, go on foot; run; leave; Kangxi radical 156
馬: Look up this written character
上: shàng · top; superior, highest; go up, send up
任: rèn · trust to, rely on, appoint; to bear, duty, office; allow
马: mǎ · horse; surname; Kangxi radical 187

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3–3–4–4 · zou3 ma3 shang4 ren4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

走馬上任 · find source passages ↗ · 走马上任 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zau2 maa5 soeng5 jam6

Cantonese word readings for 走馬上任. 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 take office; to assume a post

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack