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自作聰明

简自作聪明 · 繁自作聰明

Mandarin · pinyin zì zuò cōng míng

(idiom) to think oneself clever

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Characters in this entry

自: zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
作: zuò · make; work; compose, write; act, perform
聰: Look up this written character
明: míng · bright, light, brilliant; clear
聪: cōng · intelligent, clever, bright

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–1–2 · zi4 zuo4 cong1 ming2

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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.

自作聰明 · find source passages ↗ · 自作聪明 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zi6 zok3 cung1 ming4

Cantonese word readings for 自作聰明. 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) to overestimate one's cleverness and act unwisely

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

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