📖 Meaning
To master or comprehend something without a teacher's instruction. It describes a person with such natural aptitude or self-driven curiosity that they figure things out on their own. The idiom highlights innate talent and independent learning ability.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase traces back to the Tang dynasty poet Jia Dao (贾岛), specifically his poem 'Sending Off Monk Helan' (《送贺兰上人》), which contains the line '无师禅自解，有格句堪说' — 'without a teacher, Zen is self-understood; with refinement, the lines are worth telling.' Jia Dao, a monk-turned-poet famed for his painstakingly crafted verses, used the line to praise the monk's self-attained enlightenment. Over time the expression evolved into the four-character idiom 无师自通, broadening from Buddhist meditation to denote any skill learned without formal instruction.
💡 Example Usage
他对音乐有着天生的悟性，无师自通地学会了弹吉他。
He has a natural gift for music and taught himself to play the guitar without any lessons.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 无师自通
- Pinyin: wú shī zì tōng
- Literal Translation: without, teacher, self, understand
- Category: Learning
- Characters: 4