DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

工於心計

简工于心计 · 繁工於心計

Mandarin · pinyin gōng yú xīn jì

scheming
calculating

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

工: gōng · labor, work; worker, laborer
於: yú · yū · in, at, on; interjection alas!
心: xīn · heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)
計: Look up this written character
于: yú · in, on, at; go to; surname
计: jì · plan, plot; stratagem; scheme

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–2–1–4 · gong1 yu2 xin1 ji4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

工於心計 · find source passages ↗ · 工于心计 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) scheming; calculating; adept at scheming

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack