切中肯綮
Chinese
| close to; to cut; to slice | middle; centre; within middle; centre; within; among; in; while (doing something); during; China; Chinese; hit (the mark) |
place where muscle and bone link; key point; crux | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (切中肯綮) | 切 | 中 | 肯綮 | |
| simp. #(切中肯綮) | 切 | 中 | 肯綮 | |
Etymology
From a fable in 《莊子·養生主》. See 庖丁解牛 (páodīngjiěniú).
The modern term, which literally means "to exactly cut where muscles and bones attach", is completely opposite to the original fable's theme.
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: qièzhòngkěnqìng
- Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄝˋ ㄓㄨㄥˋ ㄎㄣˇ ㄑㄧㄥˋ
- Tongyong Pinyin: cièjhòngkěncìng
- Wade–Giles: chʻieh4-chung4-kʻên3-chʻing4
- Yale: chyè-jùng-kěn-chìng
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chiehjonqkeenchinq
- Palladius: цечжункэньцин (cečžunkɛnʹcin)
- Sinological IPA (key): /t͡ɕʰi̯ɛ⁵¹⁻⁵³ ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵¹ kʰən²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵¹/
- (Standard Chinese)+
Verb
切中肯綮
- to be pertinent; to be to the point
Derived terms
- 中肯 (zhòngkěn)