心领神会

心領神會
xīnlǐng-shénhuì
idiom #42,356

Meanings

  1. 1 to understand tacitly
  2. 2 to grasp intuitively without words
  3. 3 to catch someone's drift perfectly

Examples

HSK 4
Lǎo péngyǒu zhījiān chángcháng xīnlǐng-shénhuì, bùyòng duō shuō.
Old friends often understand each other without needing to say much.
HSK 4
Tā de ànshì, dàjiā dōu xīnlǐng-shénhuì le.
Everyone picked up on his hint without a word being spoken.
HSK 7-9
Wǒ zhǐ dì le gè yǎnsè, tā jiù xīnlǐng-shénhuì.
I just gave him a look and he understood at once.

Tips

history
From the Ming-dynasty writer Wu Hai's 《送傅德谦还临川序》: 读书有得,冥然感于中,心领神会 - when reading yields insight, one feels it inwardly and grasps it in heart and spirit. Originally about reading; now about understanding signals from another person.
usage
Describes wordless understanding between people (eye contact, hints, context) or deep comprehension of a text/teaching. Often paired with + action: 一个眼神就心领神会 (understood it from a single glance).

Stroke Order

xīn
lǐng
shén
huì