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熟能生巧

Mandarin · pinyin shú néng shēng qiǎo

with familiarity you learn the trick (idiom); practice makes perfect

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Characters in this entry

熟: shú · well-cooked; ripe; familiar with
能: néng · to be able; can, permitted to; ability
生: shēng · life, living, lifetime; birth
巧: qiǎo · skillful, ingenious, clever

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–1–3 · shu2 neng2 sheng1 qiao3

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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

suk6 nang4 saang1 haau2

Cantonese word readings for 熟能生巧. 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) practice makes perfect

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

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