项庄舞剑，意在沛公
xiàng​zhuāng​wǔ​jiàn​yì​zài​pèi​gōng

to have a hidden motive

  • created sense approved 项庄舞剑，意在沛公/項莊舞劍，意在沛公 · xiàng​zhuāng​wǔ​jiàn​yì​zài​pèi​gōng · to have an ulterior motive — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    项庄舞剑，意在沛公 / 項莊舞劍，意在沛公

    xiàng​zhuāng​wǔ​jiàn​yì​zài​pèi​gōng

    to have an ulterior motive

    Xiang Zhuang performs a sword dance, but his mind is on the Duke of Pei; to use a front to hide an intended attack or hidden agenda

    项庄 (literal) → 项庄/項莊 · xiàng​zhuāng · Xiang Zhuang 舞剑 (literal) → 舞剑/舞劍 · wǔ​jiàn · to perform a sword dance ， (non_chinese) 意 (literal) → 意 · yì · desire 在 (literal) → 在 · zài · to be at 沛公 (literal) → 沛公 · pèi​gōng · Duke of Pei

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense

  • created sense approved 项庄舞剑，意在沛公/項莊舞劍，意在沛公 · xiàng​zhuāng​wǔ​jiàn​yì​zài​pèi​gōng · to have a hidden motive — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    项庄舞剑，意在沛公 / 項莊舞劍，意在沛公

    xiàng​zhuāng​wǔ​jiàn​yì​zài​pèi​gōng

    to have a hidden motive

    (idiom) Xiang Zhuang performs the sword dance, but his mind is set on the Duke of Pei; refers to an elaborate deception used to hide malicious intent or a secret goal. Derived from a plot to murder [[刘邦|劉邦|liu2 bang1]] during the [[鸿门宴|鴻門宴|hong2 men2 yan4]].

    项庄 (literal) → 项庄/項莊 · xiàng​zhuāng · Xiang Zhuang 舞剑 (literal) → 舞剑/舞劍 · wǔ​jiàn · to perform a sword dance ， (non_chinese) 意 (literal) → 意 · yì · desire 在 (literal) → 在 · zài · to be at 沛公 (literal) → 沛公 · pèi​gōng · Duke of Pei

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense