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大智如愚

Mandarin · pinyin dà zhì rú yú

the wise may appear stupid (idiom); a genius not appreciated in his own time

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Characters in this entry

大: dà · big, great, vast, large, high
智: zhì · wisdom, knowledge, intelligence
如: rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
愚: yú · stupid, doltish, foolish

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–2–2 · da4 zhi4 ru2 yu2

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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

daai6 zi3 jyu4 jyu4

Cantonese word readings for 大智如愚. 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

(simile) synonym of 大智若愚 (dàzhìruòyú)

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

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