DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

馬失前蹄

简马失前蹄 · 繁馬失前蹄

Mandarin · pinyin mǎ shī qián tí

lit. the horse loses its front hooves
fig. sudden failure through miscalculation or inattentiveness

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

馬: Look up this written character
失: shī · lose; make mistake, neglect
前: qián · in front, forward; preceding
蹄: tí · hoof; horse
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

3–1–2–2 · ma3 shi1 qian2 ti2

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.

馬失前蹄 · find source passages ↗ · 马失前蹄 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

maa5 sat1 cin4 tai4

Cantonese word readings for 馬失前蹄. 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 suddenly fail through miscalculation or inattentiveness

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

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