DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

重文輕武

简重文轻武 · 繁重文輕武

Mandarin · pinyin zhòng wén qīng wǔ

to value letters and belittle arms (idiom); to stress civil matters and neglect the military
to prefer the pen to the sword

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

重: zhòng · heavy, weighty; double
文: wén · literature, culture, writing
輕: qīng · light; easy, simple; gentle
武: wǔ · military; martial, warlike
轻: qīng · light; easy, simple; gentle

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–2–1–3 · zhong4 wen2 qing1 wu3

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.

重文輕武 · find source passages ↗ · 重文轻武 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zung6 man4 hing1 mou5

Cantonese word readings for 重文輕武. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack