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大有可为 (dà yǒu kě wéi) — (idiom) to have great prospects; well worth doing

Definition

Chengyu meaning a field, career, or venture has bright prospects and is worth pursuing. Often used to encourage investment or effort in a promising area.

idiom
to have great prospectswell worth doing

Examples

  • 大有可为，。
    Zhè ge háng yè dà yǒu kě wéi, xī yǐn le hěn duō nián qīng rén.
    This industry has great prospects and attracts many young people.
  • ，大有可为。
    Zhǐ yào nǐ kěn nǔ lì, nǐ de wèi lái dà yǒu kě wéi.
    As long as you work hard, your future holds great promise.
  • 大有可为，。
    Rén gōng zhì néng lǐng yù dà yǒu kě wéi, zhí dé shēn rù yán jiū.
    The field of artificial intelligence has great prospects and is worth in-depth research.

Origin

Characters in this word

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →

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
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
丂
丂kǎo可kě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

可 pairs 口 (mouth) with 丂 as a sound part; it is tied to air from the mouth, perhaps singing.

Open 可 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 為; 为 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 為 showed a hand holding an elephant; the simplified 为 is a later shorthand.

Open 为 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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