先知先觉 (xiān zhī xiān jué) — having foresight; a person of foresight

Definition

Literary idiom meaning 'one who foresees and perceives ahead of others' — describes a person with sharp foresight, or the foresight itself. Rare in spoken Chinese; used in writing about visionary thinkers or leaders.

idiom
having foresighta person of foresight

Examples

  • 先知先觉，。
    Tā shì yí wèi xiān zhī xiān jué de zhèng zhì jiā, zǒng néng tí qián kàn dào wēi jī.
    He is a politician with foresight, always able to see crises in advance.
  • ，先知先觉。
    Zài kē jì lǐng yù, xiān zhī xiān jué wǎng wǎng néng yǐn lǐng háng yè biàn gé.
    In the tech field, people of foresight often lead industry change.
  • 先知先觉，。
    xiān zhī xiān jué Bìng fēi tiān shēng, ér shì cháng qī xué xí hé sī kǎo de jié guǒ.
    Foresight is not innate; it is the result of long-term study and reflection.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

先知know beforehand
先xiānbeforehand知zhīknow
偏正Modifier + head
先觉perceive beforehand
先xiānbeforehand觉juéperceive
偏正Modifier + head

先知 means knowing beforehand, and 先觉 means perceiving beforehand, so they describe foresight.

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 →

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 →

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 覺; 觉 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
𦥯
𦥯𦥯覺jué
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 覺 pairs 見, a part that means see, with 𦥯, a part that gives the sound; simplified 觉 is a later abbreviation.

Open 觉 →

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