先下手为强
xiān xià shǒu wéi qiáng
Pinyin

Definition

先下手为强
 - 
xiān xià shǒu wéi qiáng
  1. strike first and gain the upper hand (idiom, martial arts term); Making the first move is an advantage.

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

一下
yī xià
  1. 1 (used after a verb) give it a go
  2. 2 to do (sth for a bit to give it a try)
  3. 3 one time
  4. 4 once
  5. 5 in a while
  6. 6 all of a sudden
  7. 7 all at once
下
xià
  1. 1 down
  2. 2 downwards
  3. 3 below
  4. 4 lower
  5. 5 later
  6. 6 next (week etc)
  7. 7 second (of two parts)
  8. 8 to decline
  9. 9 to go down
  10. 10 to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc)
  11. 11 measure word to show the frequency of an action
下来
xià lai
  1. 1 to come down
  2. 2 (completed action marker)
  3. 3 (after verb of motion, indicates motion down and towards us, also fig.)
  4. 4 (indicates continuation from the past towards us)
  5. 5 to be harvested (of crops)
  6. 6 to be over (of a period of time)
  7. 7 to go among the masses (said of leaders)
下午
xià wǔ
  1. 1 afternoon
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè]
  3. 3 p.m.
下去
xià qù
  1. 1 to go down
  2. 2 to descend
  3. 3 to go on
  4. 4 to continue
  5. 5 (of a servant) to withdraw
下载
xià zǎi
  1. 1 to download
  2. 2 also pr. [xià zài]
先
xiān
  1. 1 early
  2. 2 prior
  3. 3 former
  4. 4 in advance
  5. 5 first
天下
tiān xià
  1. 1 land under heaven
  2. 2 the whole world
  3. 3 the whole of China
  4. 4 realm
  5. 5 rule
手
shǒu
  1. 1 hand
  2. 2 (formal) to hold
  3. 3 person engaged in certain types of work
  4. 4 person skilled in certain types of work
  5. 5 personal(ly)
  6. 6 convenient
  7. 7 classifier for skill
  8. 8 CL:雙|双[shuāng],隻|只[zhī]
手机
shǒu jī
  1. 1 cell phone
  2. 2 mobile phone
  3. 3 CL:部[bù],支[zhī]
一下子
yī xià zi
  1. 1 in a short while
  2. 2 all at once
  3. 3 all of a sudden
一手
yī shǒu
  1. 1 a skill
  2. 2 mastery of a trade
  3. 3 by oneself
  4. 4 without outside help
上下
shàng xià
  1. 1 up and down
  2. 2 top and bottom
  3. 3 old and new
  4. 4 length
  5. 5 about
上手
shàng shǒu
  1. 1 to obtain
  2. 2 to master
  3. 3 overhand (serve etc)
  4. 4 seat of honor
下半年
xià bàn nián
  1. 1 second half of the year
下场
xià chǎng
  1. 1 to leave (the stage, an exam room, the playing field etc)
  2. 2 to take part in some activity
  3. 3 to take an examination (in the imperial examination system)
下属
xià shǔ
  1. 1 subordinate
  2. 2 underling
下巴
xià ba
  1. 1 chin
  2. 2 CL:個|个[gè]
下厨
xià chú
  1. 1 to go to the kitchen (to prepare a meal)
  2. 2 to cook
下手
xià shǒu
  1. 1 to start
  2. 2 to put one's hand to
  3. 3 to set about
  4. 4 the seat to the right of the main guest

Idioms (20)

一手交钱，一手交货
yī shǒu jiāo qián , yī shǒu jiāo huò
  1. 1 lit. one hand exchanges the cash, the other the goods (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to pay for what you want in cash
  3. 3 simple and direct transaction
七手八脚
qī shǒu bā jiǎo
  1. 1 (idiom) with everyone lending a hand (eagerly but somewhat chaotically)
三下两下
sān xià liǎng xià
  1. 1 quickly and effortlessly (idiom)
上下其手
shàng xià qí shǒu
  1. 1 to raise and lower one's hand (idiom); to signal as conspiratorial hint
  2. 2 fig. conspiring to defraud
上有天堂，下有苏杭
shàng yǒu tiān táng , xià yǒu Sū Háng
  1. 1 lit. there is heaven above, and there is 蘇杭|苏杭[Sū Háng] below (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. the beauty and affluence of Suzhou and Hangzhou is comparable with heaven
上有政策，下有对策
shàng yǒu zhèng cè , xià yǒu duì cè
  1. 1 The higher ups have policies while the lower downs have their own ways of getting around them. (idiom)
上有老下有小
shàng yǒu lǎo xià yǒu xiǎo
  1. 1 lit. above are the elderly, below are the young (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to have to take care of both one's aging parents and one's children
  3. 3 sandwich generation
上梁不正下梁歪
shàng liáng bù zhèng xià liáng wāi
  1. 1 lit. If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked (idiom); fig. subordinates imitate their superiors' vices
上气不接下气
shàng qì bù jiē xià qì
  1. 1 out of breath (idiom)
  2. 2 to gasp for air
上行下效
shàng xíng xià xiào
  1. 1 subordinates follow the example of their superiors (idiom)
不怕神一样的对手，就怕猪一样的队友
bù pà shén yī yàng de duì shǒu , jiù pà zhū yī yàng de duì yǒu
  1. 1 a boneheaded teammate can do you more harm than the most formidable opponent (idiom)
不愧下学
bù kuì xià xué
  1. 1 not ashamed to learn from subordinates (idiom)
世风日下
shì fēng rì xià
  1. 1 public morals are degenerating with each passing day (idiom)
干打雷，不下雨
gān dǎ léi , bù xià yǔ
  1. 1 all thunder but no rain (idiom)
  2. 2 a lot of noise but no action
人有失手，马有失蹄
rén yǒu shī shǒu , mǎ yǒu shī tí
  1. 1 lit. just as humans make mistakes, so can a horse stumble (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. everyone makes mistakes
  3. 3 even the best fall down sometimes
伸手不见五指
shēn shǒu bù jiàn wǔ zhǐ
  1. 1 pitch-dark (idiom)
低首下心
dī shǒu xià xīn
  1. 1 to be fawningly submissive (idiom)
先下手为强
xiān xià shǒu wéi qiáng
  1. 1 strike first and gain the upper hand (idiom, martial arts term); Making the first move is an advantage.
先斩后奏
xiān zhǎn hòu zòu
  1. 1 first decapitate then present your trophy (idiom); act first, report later
先发制人
xiān fā zhì rén
  1. 1 to gain the initiative by striking first (idiom); to preempt
  2. 2 to anticipate
  3. 3 preemptive

Sample Sentences