| 先声夺人 | xiān shēng duó rén | to gain the upper hand by a show of strength | 
| 先 | xiān | beforehand; first; earlier / at first; originally / for the time being; for now / (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself) | 
| 先声 | xiān shēng | herald; precursor; harbinger | 
| 声 | shēng | sound / voice / tone / noise / reputation / classifier for sounds | 
| 夺 | duó | to seize / to take away forcibly / to wrest control of / to compete or strive for / to force one's way through / to leave out / to lose | 
| 人 | rén | person; people / CL:个,位 |