心有灵犀一点通

心有靈犀一點通

xīnyǒulíngxīyīdiǎntōng

idiom

Meanings

1 hearts linked by a sympathetic horn, understanding each other at a touch
2 two hearts beat as one
3 to be in perfect mental rapport

Characters

spiritual / magical

rhinoceros (灵犀 = magical rhino horn)

connects / understands

Examples

他们俩心有灵犀一点通，常常一个眼神就明白对方的意思。

Tāmen liǎ xīn yǒu língxī yī diǎn tōng, chángcháng yī gè yǎnshén jiù míngbai duìfāng de yìsi.

The two of them are in perfect mental rapport — often a single glance is enough to understand each other.

老搭档打球心有灵犀一点通，配合得天衣无缝。

Lǎo dādàng dǎ qiú xīn yǒu língxī yī diǎn tōng, pèihé de tiānyī wúfèng.

The longtime partners play with perfect rapport — coordinating seamlessly.

Tips

history

From Li Shangyin's 《无题》 (Tang dynasty): 身无彩凤双飞翼，心有灵犀一点通。灵犀 refers to a mythical rhino whose horn was said to contain a fine white line connecting both ends — symbol of telepathic understanding between lovers. Now extended to any kind of close mental rapport (teammates, old friends, collaborators).

culture

One of the most quoted love-poem lines in the Chinese language. In contemporary use, heavily applied to sports partners, band members, and long-married couples as well as romantic love.

Stroke Order

心 xīn

有 yǒu

灵 líng

犀 xī

一 yī

点 diǎn

通 tōng