jiàn bá nǔ zhāng
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Chinese dictionary
Show pinyin

  • slwith swords drawn and bows bent; becoming dangerously explosive; all set for a showdown

    • liǎng guó guān xi cháng qī yǐ lái chǔ yú jiàn bá nǔ zhāng de zhuàng tài

      关系长期以来处于剑拔弩张状态

      These two countries have long been at daggers drawn with each other.

    • nán běi shuāng fāng xíng chéng le jiàn bá nǔ zhāng de jú shì

      双方形成剑拔弩张局势

      The north and south were at loggerheads.

    • kàng yì zhě yǔ jǐng chá jiàn bá nǔ zhāng

      抗议者警察剑拔弩张

      The protesters and police stood eyeball to eyeball.

Word usage

  • Note
    1."剑拔弩张" is often used to describe the tension between countries, associations, and parties, but also between individuals; 2."剑" cannot be written as "箭".