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霸王硬上弓

Mandarin · pinyin bà wáng yìng shàng gōng

to force oneself upon sb (idiom)
to rape

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Characters in this entry

霸: bà · rule by might rather than right
王: wáng · king, ruler; royal; surname
硬: yìng · hard, firm, strong; obstinate
上: shàng · top; superior, highest; go up, send up
弓: gōng · bow; curved, arched; Kangxi radical 57

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

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Mandarin tones

4–2–4–4–1 · ba4 wang2 ying4 shang4 gong1

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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

baa3 wong4 ngaang6 soeng5 gung1

Cantonese word readings for 霸王硬上弓. 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

(figurative) to do something by force
(euphemistic) to force oneself upon; to rape

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

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