世故 (shì gù) — worldly wisdom; experience and skill in dealing with human affairs; social savvy
Definition
世故 (shìgu, written as one word) names the shrewd, experienced way of handling people and social situations — pragmatic savvy, not cynicism. Often paired with 老到 or 圆滑, and traditionally a mild compliment of maturity rather than a slur.
noun
worldly wisdomexperience and skill in dealing with human affairssocial savvy
Examples
- ，世故。Tā nián jì bú dà, què dǒng de hěn duō shì gù.Although he is young, he knows a lot about worldly affairs.
- 世故。Xué xí shì gù xū yào shí jiān hé jīng lì.Learning worldly wisdom takes time and experience.
- 世故。Tā cóng xiǎo jiù zài fù zá de huán jìng zhōng xué huì le shì gù.He learned worldly wisdom from a young age in a complicated environment.
Origin
Compound word构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head
The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.
世故 joins 世 (the world or society) with 故 (affairs or dealings), giving the sense of savvy about worldly affairs.
Appears in
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