八九不离十 (bā jiǔ bù lí shí) — (colloquial) very close (to the truth), about right, more or less correct

Definition

An idiom meaning a guess or estimate is 'pretty close to right' — like saying 'nine or ten out of ten', i.e. almost exactly correct. Colloquial, used for predictions, guesses, or assessments that hit near the mark.

idiom
(colloquial) very close (to the truth)about rightmore or less correct

Examples

  • 八九不离十，。
    Wǒ cāi le gè bā jiǔ bù lí shí, méi xiǎng dào zhēn de duì le.
    I guessed pretty close; I didn't think it would actually be right.
  • 八九不离十。
    Zhè jiàn shì wǒ yǐ jīng cāi dé bā jiǔ bù lí shí le.
    I've already figured this matter out with close accuracy.
  • 八九不离十，。
    Tā de yù cè měi cì dōu bā jiǔ bù lí shí, zhēn lì hài.
    His predictions are always spot on; he's amazing.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

八 shows two bent lines, indicating the original meaning 'to divide'; it was later used for 'eight' because the words sounded alike.

Open 八 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape comes from a stylized hand bent at the wrist, with the lower-right hook showing the bend. Later, it was taken to show a tightened fist bumping up to ten, giving the number nine.

Open 九 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 離; 离 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
离
离lí離lí
Same sound today

The traditional form 離 pairs 隹, a bird, with the sound part 离; the simplified 离 is a shorthand. This form first wrote a black-naped oriole, and the sound was borrowed for 'leave'.

Open 离 →

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

The early shape 十 was mostly a single vertical stroke, sometimes with a dot, and later gained a horizontal stroke to form a cross. For the number ten, it marked the next digit above one.

Open 十 →

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