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机敏 (jī mǐn) — alert, quick to notice things; resourceful, clever in handling situations

Definition

An adjective for being mentally sharp and quick to respond — alert to situations and clever in acting on them. Stronger than 机灵 (clever/nimble), which leans toward lively quickness rather than composed judgment under pressure.

adjective
alertquick to notice thingsresourcefulclever in handling situations

Examples

  • 机敏，。
    Tā fēi cháng jī mǐn, zǒng néng xùn sù fā xiàn wèn tí de guān jiàn.
    He is very alert and resourceful, always able to quickly find the key to problems.
  • 机敏。
    Zhè wèi jī mǐn de jì zhě zài cǎi fǎng zhōng wèn chū le hěn duō zhòng yào xìn xī.
    This sharp reporter got a lot of important information during the interview.
  • ，机敏。
    Miàn duì tū fā qíng kuàng, tā biǎo xiàn dé shí fēn jī mǐn.
    Facing the sudden situation, she behaved very alertly and resourcefully.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

机jīclever
敏mǐnquick

机 and 敏 both convey quick, clever responsiveness, so together they mean alert and resourceful.

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
木木mùtree; wood
Sound part声符shēngfú
几
几jǐ机jī
Same sound today

The left part is 木 (tree; wood), and the right part 几 gives the sound.

Open 机 →

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
攴攴pūhand; action
Sound part声符shēngfú
每
每měi敏mǐn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

敏 pairs 每, which gives the sound, with 攴, a hand/action part.

Open 敏 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

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