先声夺人 (xiān shēng duó rén) — to overawe others by displaying one's strength; to gain the upper hand through a strong first move

Definition

An idiom meaning to seize the initiative with a strong opening move that intimidates rivals. Often used in competitions, negotiations, or marketing, where the opening 'first blow' gives a decisive edge.

idiom
to overawe others by displaying one's strengthto gain the upper hand through a strong first move

Examples

  • 先声夺人，。
    Zhè cì bǐ sài tā men xiān shēng duó rén, yì kāi chǎng jiù jìn le liǎng gè qiú.
    In this match, they overawed the opponent by scoring two goals right at the start.
  • 先声夺人，。
    Tán pàn zhōng tā xiān shēng duó rén, xiān tí chū le yí gè hěn gāo de yāo qiú.
    During the negotiation, he gained the upper hand by first making a very high demand.
  • 先声夺人，。
    Xīn gōng sī yòng guǎng gào xiān shēng duó rén, xùn sù zhàn lǐng le shì chǎng.
    The new company overawed competitors with its advertising and quickly captured the market.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

先声first display
先xiānfirst声shēngsound
偏正Modifier + head
夺人overawes people
夺duóseize人rénperson
动宾Verb + object

先声 (first display) 夺人 (overawes people), so a strong initial move wins.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

先 combines 止 (foot) and 儿 (person) to show someone moving forward.

Open 先 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 聲; 声 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
耳耳ěrear
Sound part声符shēngfú
殸
殸qìng聲shēng
Same sound today

The traditional form 聲 pairs 耳 (ear) with 殸 as a sound part; the simplified 声 is a shorthand and does not show those original parts.

Open 声 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 奪; 夺 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 奪 includes 又 (a hand), 雀 (a bird), and 衣 (clothing), showing a hand seizing a bird from someone; the simplified 夺 is a later abbreviation.

Open 夺 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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