开弓不放箭

Traditional: 開弓不放箭

kāi gōng bù fàng jiàn

Dictionary entry

lit. to draw the bow without shooting the arrow (idiom)

What does 开弓不放箭 mean?

开弓不放箭 (kāi gōng bù fàng jiàn) has the following dictionary meaning.

1lit. to draw the bow without shooting the arrow (idiom)

2fig. to bluff

3to be all talk and no action

4false bravado

Character breakdown

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开kāito open (transitive or intransitive) · (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start 弓Gōngsurname Gong 不bùno; not so · (bound form) not; un-放fàngto put · to place 箭jiànarrow · CL:支[zhi1]

Reviewed examples

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How to pronounce 开弓不放箭

开弓不放箭

kāi gōng bù fàng jiàn

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Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.