項莊舞劍 xiàng zhuāng wǔ jiàn

lit. Xiang Zhuang performs the sword dance, but his mind is set on Liu Bang 刘邦liú bāng (idiom, refers to plot to kill Liu Bang during Feast at Hongmen 鸿门宴hóng mén yàn in 206 BC)

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. lit. Xiang Zhuang performs the sword dance, but his mind is set on Liu Bang 刘邦liú bāng (idiom, refers to plot to kill Liu Bang during Feast at Hongmen 鸿门宴hóng mén yàn in 206 BC)
  2. 2. fig. an elaborate deception hiding malicious intent

Characters

Character Meaning
項 xiàng
item
莊 zhuāng
variant of 莊zhuāng; grave or solemn; village
舞 wǔ HSK 2
to dance; to wield; to brandish
劍 jiàn
double-edged sword; classifier for blows of a sword