先 下 手 为 强

xiān xià shǒu wéi qiángdictionary entry

(idiom) strike first to gain the upper hand

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-0efd0329ad339c27. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

先下手為強先下手为强 [xian1 xia4 shou3 wei2 qiang2] /(idiom) strike first to gain the upper hand/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 先下手為強

先
xiān
beforehand / first / earlier / at first / originally / for the time being / for now / (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself)
下
xià
down / downwards / below / lower / later / next (week etc) / second (of two parts) / to decline / to go down / to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc) / measure word to show the frequency of an action
手
shǒu
hand / (formal) to hold / person engaged in certain types of work / person skilled in certain types of work / personal(ly) / convenient / classifier for skill / CL:雙|双[shuāng],隻|只[zhī]
为
wéi
as (in the capacity of) / to take sth as / to act as / to serve as / to behave as / to become / to be / to do / by (in the passive voice)
wèi
because of / for / to
强
jiàng
stubborn / unyielding
qiáng
strong / powerful / better / slightly more than / vigorous / violent / best in their category, e.g. see 百強|百强[bǎi qiáng]
qiǎng
to force / to compel / to strive / to make an effort
Qiáng
surname Qiang

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.