聞一知十

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Chinese

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hear; news; celebrated
hear; news; celebrated; sniff at
 
one; single; a
one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.)
 
to know; to be aware ten
trad. (聞一知十)
simp. (闻一知十)
Literally: “hear one [point], know ten [points]”.

Etymology

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From the Analects, Book 5 (《論語·公冶長》):

:「?」
:「何敢聞一知十。」
[Classical Chinese, trad.]
:「?」
:「何敢闻一知十。」
[Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
Zǐ wèi Zǐgòng yuē: “Nǚ yǔ Huí yě shú yù?”
Duì yuē: “Cì yě hégǎn wàng Huí. Huí yě wén yīzhī shí, cì yě wén yī yǐ zhī èr.”
[Pinyin]
The Master said to Zigong, "Which do you consider superior, yourself or [Yan] Hui?"
Zigong replied, "How dare I compare myself with Hui? Hui hears one point and knows all [lit. ten points] about a subject; I hear one point, and know a second."

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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聞一知十

  1. to be quick on the uptake; to understand the whole situation from just a few clues

Descendants

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Sino-Xenic (聞一知十):
  • Korean: 문일지십(聞一知十) (muniljisip)

Others:

See also

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Korean

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Hanja in this term

Noun

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聞一知十 (muniljisip) (hangeul 문일지십)

  1. hanja form? of 문일지십 (being quick on the uptake; understanding the whole situation from just a few clues)