聞一知十
Chinese edit
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) | 聞 | 一 | 知 | 十 | |
simp. (闻一知十) | 闻 | 一 | 知 | 十 | |
Literally: “hear one [point], know ten [points]”. |
Etymology edit
From the Analects, Book 5 (《論語·公冶長》):
- 子謂子貢曰:「女與回也孰愈?」
- 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 yī yǐ zhī 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."
對曰:「賜也何敢望回。回也聞一以知十,賜也聞一以知二。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
子谓子贡曰:「女与回也孰愈?」
对曰:「赐也何敢望回。回也闻一以知十,赐也闻一以知二。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation edit
Idiom edit
聞一知十
- to be quick on the uptake; to understand the whole situation from just a few clues
Descendants edit
Others:
- → Japanese: 一を聞いて十を知る (ichi o kiite jū o shiru) (calque)
- → Korean: 하나를 들으면 열을 안다 (hanareul deureumyeon yeoreul anda), 하나를 보면 열을 안다 (hanareul bomyeon yeoreul anda, literally “to know ten by seeing one”) (calque) (partial calque)
See also edit
Korean edit
Hanja in this term | |||
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聞 | 一 | 知 | 十 |
Noun edit
聞一知十 • (muniljisip) (hangeul 문일지십)
- Hanja form? of 문일지십 (“being quick on the uptake; understanding the whole situation from just a few clues”).