投 笔 从 戎

tóu bǐ cóng róngdictionary entry

to lay down the pen and take up the sword (idiom) / to join the military (esp. of educated person)

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-79cab24966aa7f4f. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

投筆從戎 投笔从戎 [tou2 bi3 cong2 rong2] /to lay down the pen and take up the sword (idiom)/to join the military (esp. of educated person)/

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: 投筆從戎

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.