📖 Meaning
Describes someone who is shrewd, experienced, and deliberate, making careful plans with far-reaching foresight. It conveys seasoned judgment and cunning prudence, often applied to a veteran strategist or operator. The tone can be admiring or wary depending on context.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom appears in the late Qing dynasty novel 'Nie Hai Hua' (Flower in a Sea of Retribution) by Zeng Pu, first published in 1905. In chapter 29, the author writes '沉毅哉！老谋深算，革命军之军事家' ('How resolute! Deep-scheming and far-sighted, a military strategist of the revolutionary army'), praising a revolutionary commander's calm and farsighted generalship. The phrase combines lao (experienced), mou (stratagem), shen (deep), and suan (calculation), crystallizing the ideal of the battle-tested master planner.
💡 Example Usage
这个老谋深算的对手，绝不会轻易露出破绽。
This shrewd and calculating opponent will never reveal his weaknesses easily.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 老谋深算
- Pinyin: lǎo móu shēn suàn
- Literal Translation: experienced, planning, deep, calculating
- Category: Wisdom
- Characters: 4