Proverb / Kotowaza
一を聞いて十を知る
To understand the entire picture immediately after hearing only a small part.
To hear one and know ten
Quick Answer
To understand the entire picture immediately after hearing only a small part.
- Literal Image
- To hear one and know ten
- How to Use It
- Use this when admiring someone's sharp intellect, quick learning ability, or talent for grasping instructions immediately.
Meaning
This proverb describes someone with exceptional comprehension skills. By receiving just a fraction of information, they can grasp the entire situation or complex details without further explanation. It is used as a metaphor for being highly intelligent, perceptive, and quick-witted.
Literal Image
To hear one and know ten
How to Use It
Use this when admiring someone's sharp intellect, quick learning ability, or talent for grasping instructions immediately.
Tone
This is a highly positive and complimentary expression used to praise someone's mental sharpness.
Examples
彼は新入社員ながら一を聞いて十を知る才覚があり、教育係の手をほとんど煩わせない。
Despite being a new employee, he has the talent to understand everything from a single word, so he hardly causes any trouble for his trainer.
師匠のわずかな助言から一を聞いて十を知るように技術を習得し、彼はまたたく間に上達した。
He mastered the techniques from his master's brief advice as if hearing one and knowing ten, and his skills improved in no time.
Learning Notes
Key Vocabulary
While the expression consists of very basic vocabulary, the idiomatic use of 'one' and 'ten' as metaphors for parts and wholes requires intermediate comprehension.
一
いち / ichi
one; a part
聞く
きく / kiku
to hear; to listen
十
じゅう / juu
ten; the whole
知る
しる / shiru
to know; to understand
Usage Profile
Misread Risk
This is not about literally counting to ten, but rather a metaphor for achieving total understanding from minimal input.
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Origin
This expression is derived from an episode in the 'Gongye Chang' chapter of the Analects of Confucius, a classic text of Confucianism. When Zi Gong, a disciple of Confucius, was praising the intelligence of his fellow disciple Yan Hui, he said, 'I hear one and understand two, but Yan Hui is a person who hears one and understands ten.' From this dialogue, it came to describe someone with an extraordinarily high level of comprehension.
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