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身先士卒

Mandarin · pinyin shēn xiān shì zú

to fight at the head of one's troops
(fig.) to take the lead

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Characters in this entry

身: shēn · body; trunk, hull; Kangxi radical 158
先: xiān · first, former, previous
士: shì · scholar, gentleman; soldier
卒: zú · soldier; servant; at last, finally

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

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Mandarin tones

1–1–4–2 · shen1 xian1 shi4 zu2

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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 Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

san1 sin1 si6 zeot1

Cantonese word readings for 身先士卒. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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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

(literal) to be situated in front of all soldiers and attack the enemy as the general
(figurative) to take the lead as the leader

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

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