📖 Meaning
To carefully observe and analyze the current situation and estimate how circumstances are likely to develop. It describes sound judgment that weighs timing and conditions before acting. The phrase encourages adapting one's actions to the realities of the moment.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase traces to the Ming dynasty writer Shen Defu, whose notebook 'Wanli Yehuo Bian' records a case in which the examination hall was struck by flood and fire during a provincial exam. Official Liu wanted to finish the exam so that the imperial rite would be complete, and his proposal was said to be well judged—'审时度势,' examining the times and weighing the circumstances. The judgment was praised as fitting the facts at hand. It later came to denote reading a situation accurately before deciding.
💡 Example Usage
投资者必须审时度势，才能在市场变化中把握机会。
Investors must size up the situation before they can seize opportunities as the market shifts.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 审时度势
- Pinyin: shěn shí duó shì
- Literal Translation: examine, times, estimate, trends
- Category: Wisdom
- Characters: 4