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善解人意

Mandarin · pinyin shàn jiě rén yì

to be good at understanding others (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

善: shàn · good, virtuous, charitable, kind
解: jiě · loosen, unfasten, untie; explain; hexagram ䷧
人: rén · man; people; mankind; someone else
意: yì · thought, idea, opinion; think

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–3–2–4 · shan4 jie3 ren2 yi4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sin6 gaai2 jan4 ji3

Cantonese word readings for 善解人意. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) understanding; considerate

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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