才多识寡 — “Highly talented or intelligent but lacking in broad experience”
才多识寡 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Highly talented or intelligent but lacking in broad experience”. Practical knowledge, or worldly wisdom. Literally, “much talent but little experience/knowledge”.
才多识寡 Pronunciation and Pinyin
才多识寡 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 才多识寡
Origin and Story of 才多识寡
During the Three Kingdoms period, Ji Kang, one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, traveled with Sun Deng. Sun Deng asked him about his intentions, but Ji Kang remained silent.
After traveling together for three years, when they were finally about to part ways, Ji Kang asked Sun Deng why he had not spoken much.
Sun Deng replied that Ji Kang was "talented but lacked broad experience" (才多识寡). He then offered Ji Kang a piece of advice: "Just as light needs fuel to maintain its brilliance, talent requires true insight to fulfill its potential and ensure longevity."
Idioms Related to 才多识寡
More idioms starting with 才
- cái才jiān兼wén文wǔ武accomplished in both literary and martial arts
- cái才huá华héng横yì溢overflowing with talent
- cái才huá华gài盖shì世unparalleled talent
- cái才huá华chāo超zhòng众outstanding talent
- cái才zhān占bā八dǒu斗possess exceptional literary talent
- cái才mò墨zhī之sǒu薮a gathering place for literary talents
- cái才dà大rú如hǎi海immense talent and profound knowledge
- cái才dà大xīn心xì细great talent, meticulous mind
- cái才dà大qì气gāo高Talented and arrogant
- cái才dà大nán难yòng用great talent hard to employ
- cái才kuā夸bā八dǒu斗boast of exceptional literary talent
- cái才zǐ子jiā佳rén人gifted scholars and beautiful ladies
Recommended tools
Stroke Order Animator
Turn a Chinese character or sentence into a GIF or MP4
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →
Chinese Text Image Generator
Create PNGs with pinyin, highlight character parts or remove strokes
Open the tool →
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →Questions about 才多识寡
What does 才多识寡 mean?
才多识寡 (cái duō shí guǎ) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Highly talented or intelligent but lacking in broad experience”.
How do you pronounce 才多识寡?
才多识寡 is pronounced cái duō shí guǎ in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 才多识寡 literally mean?
Literally, 才多识寡 means “much talent but little experience/knowledge”. It is used to mean “Highly talented or intelligent but lacking in broad experience”.
Where does 才多识寡 come from?
才多识寡 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 才多识寡?
才：才识。识：见识。寡：少。天资高，但见识少。