国士无双

國士無雙

guóshìwúshuāng

idiom

Meanings

1 a peerless national talent
2 one of a kind in the country

Characters

scholar; gentleman

Examples

韩信国士无双,刘邦怎能不用?

Hán Xìn guóshìwúshuāng, Liú Bāng zěn néng búyòng?

Han Xin was a peerless national talent — how could Liu Bang not employ him?

他的科研成就,堪称国士无双。

Tā de kēyán chéngjiù, kānchēng guóshìwúshuāng.

His scientific achievements are without equal in the country.

在日本麻将里,国士无双是最大的役满之一。

Zài Rìběn májiàng lǐ, guóshìwúshuāng shì zuì dà de yìmǎn zhī yī.

In Japanese mahjong, Kokushi Musou is one of the biggest yakuman hands.

Tips

history

From 《史记·淮阴侯列传》: 诸将易得耳,至如信者,国士无双 — Xiao He telling Liu Bang that generals are easy to find, but a man like Han Xin is one-of-a-kind in the realm.

culture

In Japanese riichi mahjong the idiom names the 13-orphans yakuman (国士無双) — a hand of all 1s, 9s, and honor tiles. Chinese mahjong fans borrow the term back.

Stroke Order

国 guó

士 shì

无 wú

双 shuāng