一を聞いて十を知る

Japanese
Kanji in this term
一 聞 十 知
いち
Grade: 1		 き
Grade: 2		 じゅう
Grade: 1		 し
Grade: 2
on’yomi kun’yomi on’yomi kun’yomi

Etymology

Calque of Literary Chinese 聞一知十／闻一知十 (wényīzhīshí).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): [it͡ɕi o̞ kʲiːte̞ d͡ʑɨᵝː o̞ ɕiɾɯ̟ᵝ]

Verb

一(いち)を聞(き)いて十(じゅう)を知(し)る • (ichi o kiite jū o shiru) godan (stem 一(いち)を聞(き)いて十(じゅう)を知(し)り (ichi o kiite jū o shiri), past 一(いち)を聞(き)いて十(じゅう)を知(し)った (ichi o kiite jū o shitta))

  1. (idiomatic, proverb) be quick on the uptake, understand the whole situation from just a few clues
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