📖 Meaning
This idiom describes someone whose abilities are limited and whose knowledge is shallow. It is most commonly used as a self-deprecating expression, where a speaker humbly downplays their own talent and scholarship. It conveys modesty rather than an objective assessment of incompetence.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase traces back to the Book of Han (《汉书》), where the official Gu Yong described himself as having decayed talent and shallow learning, unfit to handle political affairs. Later, the Southern Dynasties literary critic Liu Xie of the Liang Dynasty employed a similar formulation in his work Wenxin Diaolong (《文心雕龙·神思》), arguing that shallow learning paired with slowness, or sparse talent paired with haste, could never produce a true master of craft. Over time these expressions merged into the four-character idiom 才疏学浅, firmly established as a conventional phrase for self-deprecating modesty about one's limited abilities and education.
💡 Example Usage
在下才疏学浅，恐难担当此重任。
I am of modest talent and shallow learning, and fear I am unequal to such a heavy responsibility.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 才疏学浅
- Pinyin: cái shū xué qiǎn
- Literal Translation: talent, sparse, learning, shallow
- Category: Knowledge
- Characters: 4