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两面三刀

liǎng miàn sān dāodictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
two-faced, three knives (idiom) / double-cross / double dealing and back stabbing
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-b5a6813952940747. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

兩面三刀 两面三刀 [liang3 mian4 san1 dao1] /two-faced, three knives (idiom); double-cross/double dealing and back stabbing/

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: 兩面三刀

  • 两
    liǎng

    two / both / some / a few / tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤[jīn] (old)

  • 面
    miàn

    face / side / surface / aspect / top / classifier for objects with flat surfaces such as drums, mirrors, flags etc / flour / noodles / (of food) soft (not crunchy) / (slang) (of a person) ineffectual / spineless

  • 三
    sān

    three / 3

    Sān

    surname San

  • 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

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.