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先知 (xiān zhī) — prophet (in a religious context); person of foresight (secular); prescience; foresight (abstract noun)

Definition

Literally 'one who knows first': a prophet (religious sense, e.g. ancient prophets of disasters) or a secular person whose foresight is widely recognized. The abstract reading 'prescience / foresight' is rare in modern use.

noun
prophet (in a religious context)person of foresight (secular)prescienceforesight (abstract noun)

Examples

  • 先知。
    Xǔ duō gǔ dài xiān zhī dōu yù yán guò zāi nàn.
    Many ancient prophets predicted disasters.
  • 先知。
    Tā zài kē jì lǐng yù de yuǎn jiàn ràng tā bèi chēng wéi dāng dài xiān zhī.
    His foresight in technology earned him the title of a modern prophet.
  • 先知。
    Zhè zhǒng xiān zhī de zhí jué zài wēi jī zhōng fēi cháng zhēn guì.
    This kind of prophetic intuition is very precious in times of crisis.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

先xiānbeforehand
知zhīknow

先 contributes beforehand and 知 knowing, together giving one who knows ahead.

Characters in this word

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

先 combines 止 (foot) and 儿 (person) to show someone moving forward.

Open 先 →

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

An early form of 知 showed 大 (adult), 口 (mouth), and 子 (child): an adult speaking to a child to pass on knowledge. The 子 part was dropped, and the 大 part changed shape.

Open 知 →
Appears in
Religion & BeliefThinking & Cognition

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