识趣 (shí qù) — to know how to behave appropriately in a delicate situation; to be sensible and tactful

Definition

To be tactful and read the room — knowing when to stop, stay quiet, or step back. Usually appears in 不识趣 ('tactless, clueless') to describe someone who fails to sense others' feelings.

adjective
to know how to behave appropriately in a delicate situationto be sensible and tactful

Examples

  • 识趣，。
    Nǐ zuì hǎo shí qù yì diǎn, bié zài tí nà jiàn shì le.
    You'd better be tactful and stop mentioning that matter.
  • 识趣，。
    Tā hěn shí qù, kàn dào dà jiā bù gāo xìng jiù qiāo qiāo zǒu le.
    He is very sensible — as soon as he saw people weren't happy, he slipped away quietly.
  • 识趣，。
    Nǐ zěn me zhè me bù shí qù, rén jiā dōu jù jué le nǐ hái zài wèn.
    Why are you so tactless? They already said no, and you're still asking.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

识shíknow
趣qùtaste

识 means know and 趣 means taste, so it describes knowing the right tact in a situation.

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 識; 识 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánsay
Sound part声符shēngfú
戠
戠zhí識zhì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 識 pairs 言 (say) with 戠 as a sound part; the simplified 识 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 识 →

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
走走zǒuwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
取
取qǔ趣qù
Same sound today

趣 has 走, showing walking or hurrying, and 取, which gives the sound; the shape points to moving toward something.

Open 趣 →

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