DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

識時務

简识时务 · 繁識時務

Mandarin · pinyin shí shí wù

to have a clear view of things
to adapt to circumstances

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Characters in this entry

識: Look up this written character
時: shí · time, season; era, age, period
務: Look up this written character
识: shí · shì · recognize, understand, know
时: shí · time, season; era, age, period
务: wù · affairs, business; must, should

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–4 · shi2 shi2 wu4

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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.

識時務 · find source passages ↗ · 识时务 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sik1 si4 mou6

Cantonese word readings for 識時務. 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.

verb

to have a clear view of things; to adapt to circumstances

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

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