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得心应手 (dé xīn-yìng shǒu) — (idiom) skilled at the job; to be entirely in one's element; to have complete mastery

Definition

Idiom for 'in one's element' — having complete mastery through practice. Compare 心灵手巧 (clever AND nimble) and 称心如意 (a wish being fulfilled); 得心应手 focuses on skill, not desire or talent.

idiom
skilled at the jobto be entirely in one's elementto have complete mastery

Examples

  • 得心应手。
    Tā duì zhè zhǒng ruǎn jiàn yǐ jīng yòng dé dé xīn-yìng shǒu le.
    He has become very skilled at using this software.
  • ，楷得心应手。
    Wǒ liàn le sān nián shū fǎ, xiàn zài xiě kǎi shū yǐ jīng dé xīn-yìng shǒu.
    After three years of calligraphy practice, I am now entirely in my element writing regular script.
  • ，得心应手。
    Tā dāng dǎo yóu duō nián, dài tuán lǚ yóu shí zǒng shì dé xīn-yìng shǒu.
    Having been a tour guide for many years, he is always skilled at leading tours.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

得心heart gets
得déget心xīnheart
动宾Verb + object
应手hand responds
应yìngrespond手shǒuhand
动宾Verb + object

得心 and 应手 are parallel, meaning the heart gets it and the hand responds.

Characters in this word

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

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

Open 得 →

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

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Open 心 →

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 應; 应 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
䧹
䧹䧹應yìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 應 pairs 心 (heart) with 䧹 as a sound part; the simplified 应 is a later shorthand and its parts are not the original components.

Open 应 →

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

手 draws a five-fingered human hand: the top line is a bent middle finger, and the horizontal lines show the other four fingers.

Open 手 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set PhrasesSuccess & Failure

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