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天衣无缝 (tiān yī wú fèng) — flawless; perfectly seamless (of a plan, argument, performance, etc.)

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'flawless / perfectly seamless' — used to praise a plan, argument, or performance as having no gaps or flaws, like a heavenly-made garment. It is literary in tone, not everyday speech.

idiom
flawlessperfectly seamless (of a plan, argument, performance, etc.)

Examples

  • 天衣无缝，。
    Tā de jì huà shè jì dé tiān yī wú fèng, méi yǒu rèn hé lòu dòng.
    His plan was designed flawlessly, without any loopholes.
  • 天衣无缝，。
    Zhè ge tuī lǐ kàn qǐ lái tiān yī wú fèng, dàn zǐ xì jiǎn chá hái shì yǒu wèn tí.
    This reasoning seems flawless, but a closer inspection still reveals problems.
  • 天衣无缝，。
    Liǎng wèi yǎn yuán de pèi hé jiǎn zhí shì tiān yī wú fèng, guān zhòng dōu kàn dāi le.
    The two actors' coordination was simply seamless; the audience was stunned.

Origin

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
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
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 a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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

The shape of 衣 comes from an outline of the chest and upper clothing.

Open 衣 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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 縫; 缝 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
逢
逢féng縫fèng(r)
Same sound today

The traditional form 縫 pairs 糸 with 逢; 逢 gives the sound, and 糸 fits the sense. The simplified 缝 is a shorthand.

Open 缝 →
Appears in
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