明槍易躲，暗箭難防

See also: 明枪易躲，暗箭难防

Chinese

			change; easy; simple	avoid; get out of way; to hide avoid; get out of way; to hide; to go into hiding		arrow shot from hiding; underhanded attack; intrigue arrow shot from hiding; underhanded attack; intrigue; stab in the back	disaster; distress; to scold disaster; distress; to scold; difficult (to...); problem; difficulty; difficult; not good	to protect; to defend; to guard (against)
trad. (明槍易躲，暗箭難防)		明槍	易	躲	，	暗箭	難	防
simp. (明枪易躲，暗箭难防)		明枪	易	躲	，	暗箭	难	防
Literally: “A spear (thrown in) daylight is easy to dodge, (but) an arrow (shot in the) dark is difficult to defend against.”

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): míngqiāng yì duǒ, ànjiàn nán fáng

  (Zhuyin): ㄇㄧㄥˊ ㄑㄧㄤ ㄧˋ ㄉㄨㄛˇ , ㄢˋ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄋㄢˊ ㄈㄤˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ming⁴ coeng¹ ji⁶ do² am³ zin³ naan⁴ fong⁴

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: míngqiāng yì duǒ, ànjiàn nán fáng
    • Zhuyin: ㄇㄧㄥˊ ㄑㄧㄤ ㄧˋ ㄉㄨㄛˇ , ㄢˋ ㄐㄧㄢˋ ㄋㄢˊ ㄈㄤˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: míngciang yì duǒ, ànjiàn nán fáng
    • Wade–Giles: ming²-chʻiang¹ i⁴ to³, an⁴-chien⁴ nan² fang²
    • Yale: míng-chyāng yì dwǒ-, àn-jyàn nán fáng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: mingchiang yih duoo, annjiann nan farng
    • Palladius: минцян и до, аньцзянь нань фан (mincjan i do, anʹczjanʹ nanʹ fan)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /miŋ³⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯ɑŋ⁵⁵ i⁵¹ tu̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ˀän⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵¹ nän³⁵ fɑŋ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ming⁴ coeng¹ ji⁶ do² am³ zin³ naan⁴ fong⁴
    • Yale: mìhng chēung yih dó am jin nàahn fòhng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ming⁴ tsoeng¹ ji⁶ do² am³ dzin³ naan⁴ fong⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: ming⁴ cêng¹ yi⁶ do² em³ jin³ nan⁴ fong⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mɪŋ²¹ t͡sʰœːŋ⁵⁵ jiː²² tɔː³⁵ ɐm³³ t͡siːn³³ naːn²¹ fɔːŋ²¹/

Proverb

明槍易躲，暗箭難防

1. It is easy to dodge an open attack, but difficult to defend against a concealed one.

Synonyms

• (Cantonese) 明槍易擋，暗箭難防／明枪易挡，暗箭难防