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开弓不放箭

kāi gōng bù fàng jiàndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. to draw the bow without shooting the arrow (idiom) / fig. to bluff / to be all talk and no action / false bravado
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-1500c3ccb9b00888. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

開弓不放箭 开弓不放箭 [kai1 gong1 bu4 fang4 jian4] /lit. to draw the bow without shooting the arrow (idiom)/fig. to bluff/to be all talk and no action/false bravado/

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: 開弓不放箭

  • 开
    kāi

    to open (transitive or intransitive) / (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start / to turn on / to put in operation / to operate / to run / to boil / to write out (a prescription, check, invoice etc) / (directional complement) away / off / carat (gold) / abbr. for Kelvin, 開爾文|开尔文[Kāi ěr wén] / abbr. for 開本|开本[kāi běn], book format

  • 弓
    gōng

    a bow (weapon) / CL:張|张[zhāng] / to bend / to arch (one's back etc)

    Gōng

    surname Gong

  • 不
    bù

    no / not so / (bound form) not / un-

  • 放
    fàng

    to put / to place / to release / to free / to let go / to let out / to set off (fireworks)

  • 箭
    jiàn

    arrow / CL:支[zhī]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.