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神通广大 (shén tōng guǎng dà) — to be infinitely resourceful; to possess remarkable (sometimes supernatural) abilities

Definition

Literally 'divine powers, vast and great': describes someone with extraordinary, almost magical ability to get things done. Used for people, not things, and carries a tone of admiring exaggeration.

idiom
to be infinitely resourcefulto possess remarkable (sometimes supernatural) abilities

Examples

  • ，神通广大，。
    Zài wǒ men gōng sī, zhāng jīng lǐ zhēn shì shén tōng guǎng dà, shén me wèn tí dōu néng jiě jué.
    In our company, Manager Zhang is truly resourceful — he can solve any problem.
  • 《》神通广大，。
    Sūn wù kōng zài 《xī yóu jì》 lǐ shén tōng guǎng dà, huì qī shí èr biàn.
    Sun Wukong in Journey to the West has extraordinary powers — he can do seventy-two transformations.
  • ，神通广大，。
    Bié kàn tā píng shí dī diào, bàn qǐ shì lái shén tōng guǎng dà, zǒng néng zhǎo dào mén lù.
    Don't judge by his low-profile manner — when he gets things done, he's incredibly resourceful and always finds a way.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

神通divine power
神shéndivine通tōngpenetrating
联合Coordinate
广大vast
广guǎngbroad大dàgreat
联合Coordinate

神通 means divine power and 广大 means broad and great; together they describe vast divine power.

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
示示shìgod; deity
Sound part声符shēngfú
申
申shēn神shén
Same sound today

The older form 申 drew lightning, which the ancients regarded as divine; 神 adds 示 (god/deity) to mark that meaning.

Open 神 →

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
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
甬
甬yǒng通tōng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

通 pairs 辶, a part associated with movement, with 甬, which gives the sound.

Open 通 →

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 廣; 广 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
广广guǎng
Sound part声符shēngfú
黃
黃huáng廣guǎng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 廣 combines 广 (meaning part) with 黃 (sound part); the simplified 广 is a later shorthand, not the full historical shape.

Open 广 →

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 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesMythology & Folklore

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