TongTong
Sign in

德才兼备 (dé cái-jiān bèi) — possessing both moral integrity and talent

Definition

A formal chengyu praising a person who has both high moral character (德) and strong ability (才) — used of leaders, candidates, or ideal people, not casual praise.

phrase
possessing both moral integrity and talent

Examples

  • 德才兼备。
    Xué xiào yīng gāi péi yǎng dé cái-jiān bèi de xué shēng.
    Schools should cultivate students who possess both integrity and talent.
  • 德才兼备。
    Zhāo pìn shí wǒ men yōu xiān kǎo lǜ dé cái-jiān bèi de hòu xuǎn rén.
    When recruiting, we give priority to candidates who have both moral integrity and ability.
  • 德才兼备。
    dé cái-jiān bèi Shì xuǎn bá gàn bù de zhòng yào biāo zhǔn.
    Possessing both integrity and talent is an important criterion for selecting cadres.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

德才virtue and talent
德dévirtue才cáitalent
联合Coordinate
兼备have both
兼jiānboth备bèihave
偏正Modifier + head

德才 is the subject and 兼备 the predicate, meaning both are present.

Characters in this word

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
彳彳chìroad
Sound part声符shēngfú
惪
惪dé德dé
Same sound today

德 combines 彳, a road, with 惪, a component meaning virtue that also supplies the sound.

Open 德 →

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

才 originally drew a sharp peg, not a sprout growing from the ground.

Open 才 →

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

The shape of 兼 pictures a hand holding two grain stalks, showing two things together.

Open 兼 →

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 備; 备 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 備 shows a person carrying a quiver, matching the meaning 'ready; prepared'; the simplified 备 is a later abbreviation.

Open 备 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set PhrasesPersonality & Traits

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.