🇨🇳Chinese Source WordCode: ZH

狡猾

Pronunciation / Transliteration: jiǎohuá

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Cunning/ˈkʌn.ɪŋ/
adjectivenounCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #4500 frequency
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🇨🇳 Example Sentence in Chinese:

"这个狡猾的骗子终于被抓住了。"

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As adjective
  1. 1

    Having or showing skill in achieving one's ends by deceit or evasion.

    "He used cunning tactics to outsmart his business competitors."
As noun
  1. 1

    Skill employed in a sly manner, or craftiness.

    "The detective admired the criminal's cunning in covering his tracks."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Synonyms (3)
Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Derived from Middle English, originating from the Old Norse root 'kunna' meaning 'to know'. Historically, it initially signified knowing, knowledge, or skill before shifting during the early modern period toward the negative connotation of cleverness involving deceit or slyness.

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