有頭威，冇尾陣

Chinese

		to have; there is; there are to have; there is; there are; to exist; to be	head; (noun suffix)	power; might; prestige		not have (dialectal)	tail	disposition of troops; short period; wave disposition of troops; short period; wave; spate; burst; spell
trad. (有頭威，冇尾陣)		有	頭	威	，	冇	尾	陣
simp. (有头威，冇尾阵)		有	头	威	，	冇	尾	阵
Literally: “have head majesty, but no tail troops”.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jau⁵ tau⁴ wai¹, mou⁵ mei⁵ zan⁶

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• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: jau⁵ tau⁴ wai¹, mou⁵ mei⁵ zan⁶
    • Yale: yáuh tàuh wāi, móuh méih jahn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jau⁵ tau⁴ wai¹, mou⁵ mei⁵ dzan⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: yeo⁵ teo⁴ wei¹, mou⁵ méi⁵ zen⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɐu̯¹³ tʰɐu̯²¹ wɐi̯⁵⁵ mou̯¹³ mei̯¹³ t͡sɐn²²/

Idiom

有頭威，冇尾陣

1. (Cantonese) to start off strong, but finish weak; to be inconsistent with one's effort

Synonyms

• 虎頭蛇尾／虎头蛇尾 (hǔtóushéwěi)