十全十美 (shí quán shí měi) — perfect in every way, flawless

Definition

An emphatic idiom meaning 'perfect in every respect, flawless' — the doubled '十' stresses completeness. Used to praise something ideal, or (often with negation) to note that perfection is unattainable.

idiom

perfect in every wayflawless

Examples

十全十美。
Shì jiè shàng méi yǒu shí quán shí měi de rén.
There is no perfect person in the world.
十全十美。
Tā yāo qiú měi yí xiàng gōng zuò dōu zuò dào shí quán shí měi.
He demands that every task be done perfectly.
，十全十美。
Suī rán zhè ge jì huà yǐ jīng hěn hǎo, dàn hái bú shì shí quán shí měi de.
Although this plan is already very good, it's still not perfect in every way.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

十全tenfold complete

十shíten全quáncomplete

偏正Modifier + head

十美tenfold beautiful

十shíten美měibeautiful

偏正Modifier + head

十全 means tenfold completeness, and 十美 means tenfold beauty; together they express perfect in every way.

Characters in this word

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

入入rù
玉玉yùjade

The shape puts 入 together with 玉 to show a whole piece of jade, so it means complete or whole.

Open 全 →

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.