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入室 (rù shì) — to enter a room; (figurative) to attain mastery (in a skill or discipline); to reach an advanced level

Definition

Literally 'enter the room', used figuratively in the classical set phrase 入室弟子 or 入室 to mean attaining the highest level of mastery in a discipline (esp. calligraphy, painting, martial arts).

verb
to enter a room(figurative) to attain mastery (in a skill or discipline)to reach an advanced level

Examples

  • ，入室。
    Tā qīng qīng tuī kāi mén, rù shì hòu dǎ kāi le dēng.
    He gently pushed the door open, entered the room, and turned on the light.
  • ，入室。
    Tā xué shū fǎ èr shí nián, zhōng yú rù shì le.
    After studying calligraphy for twenty years, he finally attained mastery.
  • ，。
    Xiǎo tōu rù le shì, xìng hǎo méi tōu zǒu guì zhòng wù pǐn.
    The thief entered the room, but luckily didn't steal anything valuable.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

入rùenter
室shìroom

入 (enter) and 室 (room) describe entering a room, extended to reaching a deeper level.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

入 is drawn as an arrowhead, indicating 'to enter'.

Open 入 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
至
至zhì室shì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

室 puts 宀 (roof) over 至, the spot where someone stops, giving the meaning of a house or residence.

Open 室 →
Appears in
Rooms & Spaces

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