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聪明才智 (cōng míng cái zhì) — intelligence and talent; wisdom and ability

Definition

Literary four-character idiom for 'intelligence and talent' — pairs 聪明 (being clever) with 才智 (talent and wisdom), so it covers BOTH innate cleverness and cultivated ability, used in formal writing about a person's gifts.

idiom
intelligence and talentwisdom and ability

Examples

  • 聪明才智。
    Tā píng jiè zì jǐ de cōng míng cái zhì qǔ dé le chéng gōng.
    He achieved success through his own intelligence and talent.
  • 聪明才智。
    Shè huì xū yào gèng duō yǒu cōng míng cái zhì de rén cái.
    Society needs more talented people with intelligence and ability.
  • 聪明才智。
    Tā de cōng míng cái zhì ràng tā chéng wéi le yōu xiù de kē xué jiā.
    His intelligence and talent made him an outstanding scientist.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

聪明cleverness
聪cōngclever明míngbright
联合Coordinate
才智talent and wisdom
才cáitalent智zhìwisdom
联合Coordinate

聪明 (cleverness) and 才智 (talent-wisdom) are paired together to mean intelligence and ability.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 聰; 聪 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
囪
囪cōng聰cōng
Same sound today

The traditional form 聰 has 耳, the ear, beside a right side made of 囪, a window giving the sound, over 心, the heart; the simplified 聪 is a later abbreviation.

Open 聪 →

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

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

Open 明 →

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 early form 智 used 大 (adult), 口 (mouth), and 子 (child): an adult speaking to pass knowledge to a child.

Open 智 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

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