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刀光剑影

dāo guāng jiàn yǐngdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. flash of knives and swords (idiom) / fig. intense conflict
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-354137d319fb859d. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

刀光劍影 刀光剑影 [dao1 guang1 jian4 ying3] /lit. flash of knives and swords (idiom)/fig. intense conflict/

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: 刀光劍影

  • 刀
    dāo

    knife / blade / single-edged sword / cutlass (CL:把[bǎ]) / (slang) (loanword) dollar / classifier for sets of one hundred sheets (of paper) / classifier for knife cuts or stabs / (Internet slang) to bargain / to ask for a small discount (esp. on second-hand marketplaces) / (Internet slang) to knife (sb) (often used hyperbolically, as in 想刀他[xiǎng dāo tā] "I could kill him!")

    Dāo

    surname Dao

  • 光
    guāng

    light / ray (CL:道[dào]) / bright / shiny / only / merely / used up / finished / to leave (a part of the body) uncovered

  • 剑
    jiàn

    double-edged sword / CL:口[kǒu],把[bǎ] / classifier for blows of a sword

  • 影
    yǐng

    picture / image / film / movie / photograph / reflection / shadow / trace

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.