刀笔之吏 — “Officials of knife and brush”
刀笔之吏 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a petty official or clerk skilled in handling documents and legal writings, sometimes implying a shrewd or cunning nature in their work”. Literally, “Officials of knife and brush”.
刀笔之吏 Pronunciation and Pinyin
刀笔之吏 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 刀笔之吏
Idioms Related to 刀笔之吏
More idioms starting with 刀
- dāo刀xià下liú留rén人Stay the execution
- dāo刀zǔ俎yú余shēng生a narrow escape from danger
- dāo刀guāng光jiàn剑yǐng影scene of flashing swords and clashing blades
- dāo刀guāng光xuè血yǐng影scene of intense fighting and bloodshed
- dāo刀dāo刀jiàn见xiě血speak incisively and pointedly
- dāo刀tóu头jiàn剑shǒu首extremely perilous situation
- dāo刀tóu头yàn燕wěi尾vigorous, sharp, powerful brushstrokes
- dāo刀tóu头tiǎn舔mì蜜pursue small gains at great risk
- dāo刀zi子zuǐ嘴dòu豆fu腐xīn心sharp tongue, soft heart
- dāo刀shān山jiàn剑lín林perilous and extremely dangerous place
- dāo刀shān山jiàn剑shù树a hellish place of severe torment
- dāo刀shān山huǒ火hǎi海extremely perilous or arduous places
Recommended tools
Stroke Order Animator
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →
Picture Worksheets
Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →Questions about 刀笔之吏
What does 刀笔之吏 mean?
刀笔之吏 (dāo bǐ zhī lì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a petty official or clerk skilled in handling documents and legal writings, sometimes implying a shrewd or cunning nature in their work”.
How do you pronounce 刀笔之吏?
刀笔之吏 is pronounced dāo bǐ zhī lì in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 刀笔之吏 literally mean?
Literally, 刀笔之吏 means “Officials of knife and brush”. It is used to mean “a petty official or clerk skilled in handling documents and legal writings, sometimes implying a shrewd or cunning nature in their work”.
What is the Chinese definition of 刀笔之吏?
刀笔：古时在竹简上用刀削改字。指代办文书的小吏