老谋深算 (lǎo móu shēn suàn) — shrewd and astute; experienced and calculating

Definition

A four-character idiom (chengyu) describing someone who plans deeply and calculates every move — a deliberately negative judgment, unlike a neutral compliment like 聪明.

idiom
shrewd and astuteexperienced and calculating

Examples

  • 老谋深算，。
    Tā shì yí wèi lǎo móu shēn suàn de zhèng zhì jiā, cóng bù qīng yì bào lù zì jǐ de yì tú.
    He is a shrewd and astute politician who never easily reveals his intentions.
  • ，老谋深算，。
    Bié kàn tā píng shí bù kēng shēng, qí shí lǎo móu shēn suàn, měi yí bù dōu suàn dé hěn zhǔn.
    Don't be fooled by his usual silence — he's actually very calculating, and every move he makes is well thought out.
  • ，老谋深算。
    Zài zhè chǎng shāng yè tán pàn zhōng, duì fāng de lǎo móu shēn suàn ràng wǒ men bù dé bù jiā bèi xiǎo xīn.
    In this business negotiation, the other party's shrewdness forced us to be extra cautious.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

老谋experienced planning
老lǎoexperienced谋móuplan
偏正Modifier + head
深算deep calculation
深shēndeep算suàncalculation
偏正Modifier + head

老谋 means experienced planning, 深算 means deep calculation; together describe shrewd foresight.

Characters in this word

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

The shape 老 combines 人 (man), 毛 (hair), and 匕 (cane), showing a man with long hair leaning on a cane.

Open 老 →

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 謀; 谋 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
某
某mǒu謀móu
Same sound today

The traditional form 謀 uses 言 to show it relates to speech and 某 to show its sound; the simplified 谋 is a later shorthand.

Open 谋 →

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 →

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

The current form 算 has 竹 on top, 目 in the middle, and 廾 below; the 目 part may have originally drawn counting rods, often made of bamboo.

Open 算 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.