📖 Meaning
甚 means 'very' or 'extreme.' The idiom describes seeking only a rough or general idea of something rather than a thorough, detailed understanding. It is most often used to criticize careless or superficial study and research.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from 'Biography of Mr. Five Willows' (《五柳先生传》) by Tao Qian (陶潜, also known as Tao Yuanming), a poet of the Eastern Jin dynasty. In it he writes that Mr. Five Willows did not care for profit, loved reading, and 'did not seek deep understanding of every word.' Whenever he grasped the true meaning of a passage, he was so delighted that he forgot to eat. Over time the phrase shifted from describing a carefree, intuitive approach to reading into a term for studying without going into depth.
💡 Example Usage
这人小的时候，诸事颟颟顸顸，不求甚解。
When this man was young, he was muddle-headed about everything and never tried to get to the bottom of things.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 不求甚解
- Pinyin: bù qiú shèn jiě
- Literal Translation: not, seek, deep, understanding
- Category: Learning
- Characters: 4