📖 Meaning
This idiom describes a person who has broad, extensive learning and rich, varied experience. It praises someone whose knowledge spans many fields and whose awareness of the world is well-informed.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase draws from two classical sources. The 'Book of Rites' (礼记·中庸), a Confucian text from the Zhou dynasty, advises one to 'study broadly, inquire carefully, think cautiously, distinguish clearly, and practice earnestly.' The philosopher Xunzi (荀子), also of the late Warring States period, wrote in his essay 'Cultivating Oneself' (修身) that 'hearing much is called broad.' Together these gave rise to the four-character idiom praising broad learning and extensive experience.
💡 Example Usage
李教授博学多闻，授课时旁征博引，深受学生敬重。
Professor Li is broadly learned and well-informed; he cites examples from many sources during lectures and is deeply respected by his students.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 博学多闻
- Pinyin: bó xué duō wén
- Literal Translation: widely learned, much heard
- Category: Knowledge
- Characters: 4