DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

龍頭蛇尾

简龙头蛇尾 · 繁龍頭蛇尾

Mandarin · pinyin lóng tóu shé wěi

lit. dragon's head, snake's tail (idiom); fig. a strong start but weak finish

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

龍: Look up this written character
頭: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss
蛇: shé · snake
尾: wěi · tail, extremity; end, stern; 6th lunar mansion, determinative star μ¹ Scorpii (Xamidimura)
龙: lóng · dragon; symbolic of emperor
头: tóu · head; top; chief, first; boss

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2–2–2–3 · long2 tou2 she2 wei3

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.

龍頭蛇尾 · find source passages ↗ · 龙头蛇尾 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

lung4 tau4 se4 mei5

Cantonese word readings for 龍頭蛇尾. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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