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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

先發制人

/ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵ fä⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂɻ̩⁵¹ ɻən³⁵/
to take the initiative to subdue the enemy; to take preemptive measures
  • 先发制人
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Origin

The phrase is composed of the characters 先, meaning first, ahead of time, before, or beforehand; 發, meaning to shoot or to launch; 制, meaning to plan or to regulate; and 人, meaning man, person, or people. According to the MOE Dictionary, the phrase describes the act of taking the initiative by striking first to subdue an opponent.

The character 先 contains the components 止 (foot) and 儿 (standing person). The character 制 is the simplified form of 製, which means to make, manufacture, or produce. In the character 製, 衣 (garment) serves as the semantic component, while 制 serves as the phonetic component. The character 制 itself contains the components 朱 (cinnabar or vermilion) and 刀 (knife or blade).

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

「先發制人」是由四個漢字組成。其中「先」字包含「止」（腳）與「儿」（站立的人）兩個組成部分，意指第一、在前面或預先；「發」意指射出或發動；「制」意指計畫或規範，此字為「製」字的簡化形式；「人」則指人或人們。

在字形構成上，「制」字包含「朱」（硃砂）與「刀」兩個部分。而「製」字則是由「衣」（衣服）作為意義組成部分，並以「制」作為聲音組成部分。整體成語用來描述採取預防措施，以先發制人地制服敵人。

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

Lineage

  • characterChinese先 “first; ahead of time; before; beforehand”
    • ideaChinese止 “foot”
    • ideaChinese儿 “standing person”
  • characterChinese發 “to shoot; to launch”
  • characterChinese制 “to plan; to regulate”
    • simplified fromChinese製 “to make; to manufacture; to produce”
      • meaningChinese衣 “garment; clothes; clothing (Classifier: 件)”
    • ideaChinese朱 “cinnabar; vermilion”
    • ideaChinese刀 “knife; blade (Classifier: 把 m c g h j mb md w x; 張／张 c h; 叢／丛 mn; 支 mn mn-t)”
  • characterChinese人 “man; person; people (Classifier: 個／个 m c; 隻／只 h)”
Wiktionary etymology text

No etymology text yet. The graph shows what is known from the sources.

Meanings

phrase
  1. to take the initiative to subdue the enemy; to take preemptive measures

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 凡事先下手取得主動權，而制伏對方。 例：比賽一開始，他便先發制人，連連得分。

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

Sources

  • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
  • HSK / TOCFL word lists — Facts (levels)
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0