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博大精深 (bó dà jīng shēn) — wide-ranging and profound; broad and deep (of culture, knowledge, or theories)

Definition

A four-character idiom describing culture, knowledge, or theories as both vast in scope and deep in insight. Used in formal writing to praise the richness of an intellectual tradition.

phrase
wide-ranging and profoundbroad and deep (of culture, knowledge, or theories)

Examples

  • 博大精深，。
    Zhōng yī zhè mén xué wèn bó dà jīng shēn, zhí dé yòng yì shēng qù xué xí.
    The study of traditional Chinese medicine is vast and profound, worth a lifetime of learning.
  • 博大精深，。
    Tā xiě de nà běn shū nèi róng bó dà jīng shēn, dú yí biàn gēn běn lǐ jiě bù liǎo.
    The content of that book he wrote is so broad and deep that you can't understand it with just one reading.
  • 博大精深，。
    Zhōng huá wén huà bó dà jīng shēn, xī yǐn le wú shù wài guó xué zhě qián lái yán jiū.
    Chinese culture is vast and profound, attracting countless foreign scholars to study it.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

博大broad and large
博bóbroad大dàlarge
联合Coordinate
精深fine and deep
精jīngfine深shēndeep
联合Coordinate

The hanzi "博" "大" "精" "深" mean broad, large, fine, deep, so together they describe vast profound learning.

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
十十shíten
Sound part声符shēngfú
尃
尃fū博
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from combining 十 (ten) with 尃; 尃 gives the sound.

Open 博 →

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng精jīng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

精 pairs 米 (rice) with 青, which gives the sound; the character originally meant polished rice.

Open 精 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
𥥍
𥥍𥥍深shēn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

深 is built from 氵, the side form of 水 “water”, and 𥥍, which supplies the sound.

Open 深 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

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