CHENGYU
举一反三(jǔ yī fǎn sān)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- formal, approving
- Source:
- 《论语·述而》
MEANING
- Literal
- to raise one corner and infer the other three
- Figurative meaning
- to learn by analogy; to draw inferences
ORIGIN STORY
In the Analects, Confucius said: if I raise one corner of a question and the student cannot infer the other three, I will not repeat the lesson.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“to learn by analogy; to read between the lines”
EXAMPLES
学习要会举一反三，不能死记硬背。Xuéxí yào huì jǔ yī fǎn sān, bù néng sǐ jì yìng bèi.HSK6
Study by drawing inferences, not by rote memorization.
这个学生很聪明，总能举一反三。Zhège xuésheng hěn cōngming, zǒng néng jǔ yī fǎn sān.HSK6
This student is bright and always reasons from one example to others.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: It praises intelligent generalization — not simply repeating what was taught.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-14
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01