明槍易擋，暗箭難防

Chinese

			change; easy; simple	arrange; put in order; hinder arrange; put in order; hinder; resist; obstruct; cover; keep off; a cover; to block (a blow); to get in the way of		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. (明槍易擋，暗箭難防)		明槍	易	擋	，	暗箭	難	防
simp. (明枪易挡，暗箭难防)		明枪	易	挡	，	暗箭	难	防
Literally: “Overt lance [is] easy to ward off, hidden arrow [is] hard to guard against”.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ming⁴ coeng¹ ji⁶ dong², am³ zin³ naan⁴ fong⁴

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• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ming⁴ coeng¹ ji⁶ dong², am³ zin³ naan⁴ fong⁴
    • Yale: mìhng chēung yih dóng, am jin nàahn fòhng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ming⁴ tsoeng¹ ji⁶ dong², am³ dzin³ naan⁴ fong⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: ming⁴ cêng¹ yi⁶ dong², em³ jin³ nan⁴ fong⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mɪŋ²¹ t͡sʰœːŋ⁵⁵ jiː²² tɔːŋ³⁵ ɐm³³ t͡siːn³³ naːn²¹ fɔːŋ²¹/

Proverb

明槍易擋，暗箭難防

1. (Cantonese) Synonym of 明槍易躲，暗箭難防／明枪易躲，暗箭难防 (míngqiāng yì duǒ, ànjiàn nán fáng, “It is easy to dodge an open attack, but difficult to defend against a concealed one.”)