一を聞いて十を知る

Japanese

Kanji in this term
一	聞	十	知
いち Grade: 1	き Grade: 2	じゅう Grade: 1	し Grade: 2
on'yomi	kun'yomi	on'yomi	kun'yomi

Etymology

Calque from Literary Chinese 聞一知十／闻一知十 (wényīzhīshí).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [it͡ɕi o̞ kʲiːte̞ d͡ʑɨː o̞ ɕiɾɯ̟]

Verb

一(いち)を聞(き)いて十(じゅう)を知(し)る • (ichi o kiite jū o shiru) godan (stem 一(いち)を聞(き)いて十(じゅう)を知(し)り (ichi o kiite jū o shiri), past 一(いち)を聞(き)いて十(じゅう)を知(し)った (ichi o kiite jū o shitta))

1. (idiomatic, proverb) be quick on the uptake, understand the whole situation from just a few clues