举一反三

舉一反三

jǔyīfǎnsān

idiom HSK 7 #94,448

Meanings

1 to draw inferences from one example
2 to apply knowledge flexibly

Characters

raise; bring up

Literally 'raise one, infer three' — learn one thing and understand many.

Examples

好学生要学会举一反三。

Hǎo xuéshēng yào xuéhuì jǔyīfǎnsān.

Good students should learn to draw inferences from one example.

他很聪明，总能举一反三。

Tā hěn cōngming, zǒng néng jǔyīfǎnsān.

He is very smart and can always apply knowledge flexibly.

Tips

history

From the Analerta of Confucius (论语): 'If I show one corner and the student cannot come back with the other three, I will not repeat.' Confucius valued students who could extrapolate.

Stroke Order

举 jǔ

一 yī

反 fǎn

三 sān