恩 威 兼 施

ēn wēi jiān shīdictionary entry

to employ both kindness and severity (idiom)

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-80f8e22d586394d4. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

恩威兼施恩威兼施 [en1 wei1 jian1 shi1] /to employ both kindness and severity (idiom)/

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.

恩
ēn
favor / grace / kindness / (coll.) used like 嗯[èn] in online chat, expressing agreement
威
wēi
power / might / prestige
兼
jiān
double / twice / simultaneous / holding two or more (official) posts at the same time
施
shī
(bound form) to put into effect (regulations etc) / to distribute (alms etc) / to apply (fertilizer etc)
Shī
surname Shi

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.