DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

恃才傲物

Mandarin · pinyin shì cái ào wù

(idiom) to be inordinately proud of one's ability; to be conceited and contemptuous

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

恃: shì · rely on, presume on, trust to
才: cái · talent, ability; just, only
傲: ào · proud, haughty, overbearing
物: wù · thing, substance, creature

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–2–4–4 · shi4 cai2 ao4 wu4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character 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.

恃才傲物 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗