每天成语
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投机取巧

*The explanations on this page are generated by AI. Please note that they may contain inaccurate information.

1. Basic Information

  • Pinyin: tóu jī qǔ qiǎo
  • English Translation: To resort to dubious tricks (opportunism)
  • Idiom Composition: 「投」（To cast or adapt to (an opportunity)）＋「机」（Opportunity or chance）＋「取」（To seek or obtain）＋「巧」（Crafty methods or clever shortcuts）
  • Meaning: To avoid honest effort and instead use opportunistic methods or crafty shortcuts to gain an advantage. It is a derogatory term used to criticize a lack of integrity or diligence.

2. Detailed Meaning and Nuances

「投机取巧」 contains the following nuances:

  • Opportunistic Attitude: 投机 (tóu jī) originally means seizing an opportunity, but in this idiom, it carries a negative nuance of looking for loopholes or exploiting a situation for selfish gain.
  • Avoidance of Effort: The idiom strongly suggests a mindset of 'cutting corners' to get results without going through the proper, honest process or putting in the necessary work.
  • Shallow Craftiness: 取巧 (qǔ qiǎo) refers to acting cleverly, but in this context, it criticizes shallow tricks or shifty behavior rather than genuine intelligence or wisdom.

3. Usage

「投机取巧」 is mainly used in the following contexts:

  • Attitude toward work or study: Used to warn against neglecting fundamentals in favor of techniques, cheating, or flattery to get results.
    • Example:「学习必须脚踏实地，不能总想着投机取巧。」
      （Learning must be grounded; one cannot always think about taking shortcuts.)
  • Business and commerce: Used to criticize exploiting legal loopholes or faking quality to gain unfair profits.
    • Example:「靠投机取巧做生意是长久不了的，信誉才是根本。」
      （Doing business by resorting to dubious tricks won't last long; reputation is the foundation.)
  • Social behavior: Refers to selfish behavior where one ignores rules to gain a personal advantage.
    • Example:「他以为自己很聪明，其实这种投机取巧的做法只会让人反感。」
      （He thinks he's smart, but in reality, this kind of opportunistic behavior only breeds resentment.)

Additional Examples:

  1. 这次考试很难，想靠投机取巧及格是不可能的。
    （This exam is very difficult; it's impossible to pass by relying on tricks.）
  2. 与其整天琢磨怎么投机取巧，不如多花点时间提升自己的能力。
    （Instead of spending all day figuring out how to game the system, you should spend more time improving your skills.）
  3. 在这个团队里，我们欣赏踏实肯干的人，不喜欢投机取巧之徒。
    （In this team, we appreciate those who work hard and dislike those who resort to craftiness.）
  4. 虽然他一时靠投机取巧赚了钱，但最终还是破产了。
    （Although he made money for a while by opportunistic means, he eventually went bankrupt.）
  5. 不要把别人的善良当作你投机取巧的机会。
    （Don't treat other people's kindness as an opportunity for you to take unfair advantage.）

4. Cultural Background and Notes

  • In Chinese culture, especially within Confucian (孔子) values, the concept of 脚踏实地 (jiǎo tà shí dì) or 'keeping one's feet on the ground' is a core virtue. 投机取巧 (tóu jī qǔ qiǎo) is seen as the behavior of a 小人 (xiǎo rén), or a person lacking moral integrity.
  • In modern competitive environments, while being 'resourceful' is often valued, this idiom specifically targets 'cheating' or 'unethical shortcuts' that cross moral or legal boundaries.
  • It is important to distinguish this from 随机应变 (suí jī yìng biàn), which means 'to be flexible and adapt to circumstances' (a positive trait), whereas 投机取巧 (tóu jī qǔ qiǎo) implies bending principles for selfish gain.

5. Similar and Opposite Idioms

6. Summary

投机取巧 (tóu jī qǔ qiǎo) describes an attitude of avoiding hard work in favor of manipulation and shortcuts. Whether in studies, business, or social interactions, it implies 'gaming the system' or being 'shifty' to achieve success without earning it. It highlights a fundamental lack of sincerity and is used to condemn those who prefer clever tricks over steady progress.

Featured in the Chuken exam (Japan's Chinese test)Pre-Level 1

Idiom Essay

tóu jī qǔ qiǎo
投机取巧
Taking Shortcuts
zài在zhè ge这个jiǎng qiú讲求sù dù速度de的shí dài时代，wǒ men我们jīng cháng经常huì会wèn问yí gè一个wèn tí问题：“yǒu méi yǒu有没有gèng更kuài快de的bàn fǎ办法？”

In this era that emphasizes speed, we often ask a question: "Is there a faster way?"

rú guǒ如果néng能yòng用yì fēn zhōng一分钟zuò做wán完de的shì事，wèi shén me为什么yào要huā花yí gè一个xiǎo shí小时？

If something can be done in one minute, why spend an hour?

rú guǒ如果néng能zǒu走jìn lù近路，wèi shén me为什么yào要rào绕yuǎn lù远路？

If you can take a shortcut, why take the long way around?

zhè zhǒng这种xún zhǎo寻找“jié jìng捷径”de的xīn tài心态，běn shēn本身bìng并méi yǒu没有cuò错。

This mindset of looking for a "shortcut" is not wrong in itself.

dàn但dāng当zhè zhǒng这种xīn tài心态guò过le了tóu头，shèn zhì甚至biàn chéng变成le了bù xiǎng不想fù chū付出nǔ lì努力、zhǐ只xiǎng想kào靠yùn qì运气huò或xiǎo cōng míng小聪明lái来huò dé获得chéng gōng成功shí时，zhōng wén中文lǐ里jiù就yǒu有yí gè一个zhuān mén专门de的chéng yǔ成语lái来xíng róng形容tā它，jiào叫“tóu jī qǔ qiǎo投机取巧”。

But when this mindset goes too far, even becoming a desire to succeed without effort by relying on luck or cleverness, there is a specific Chinese idiom to describe it: 投机取巧.

zhè这sì gè四个zì字qí shí其实hěn很shēng dòng生动。

These four characters are actually very vivid.

“tóu jī投机”，yì si意思shì是zhuā zhù抓住yí gè一个jī huì机会，xiàng像dǔ bó赌博yī yàng一样qù去pèng yùn qì碰运气；“qǔ qiǎo取巧”，yì si意思shì是xuǎn qǔ选取nà ge那个zuì最qiǎo miào巧妙、zuì最shěng lì省力de的fāng fǎ方法。

投机 means seizing an opportunity and taking a gamble on luck; 取巧 means choosing the most clever and effortless method.

zhà yī tīng乍一听，zhè这sì hū似乎hěn很cōng míng聪明。

At first glance, this seems very smart.

dàn但zài在zhōng wén中文de的yǔ jìng语境lǐ里，“tóu jī qǔ qiǎo投机取巧”tōng cháng通常bú shì不是yí gè一个bāo yì褒义cí词。

However, in the context of Chinese, 投机取巧 is usually not a positive term.

tā它hé和“gāo xiào高效”yǒu zhe有着běn zhì本质de的qū bié区别。

It is fundamentally different from "efficiency."

“gāo xiào高效”shì是zhǐ指nǐ你yōu huà优化le了zuò shì做事de的bù zhòu步骤，dàn但gāi该zuò做de的nǔ lì努力yī yàng一样méi没shǎo少；ér而“tóu jī qǔ qiǎo投机取巧”wǎng wǎng往往shì是zhǐ指——shì tú试图tiào guò跳过bì xū必须fù chū付出de的nǔ lì努力，zhí jiē直接qù去ná拿nà ge那个jié guǒ结果。

"Efficiency" means you have optimized the steps, but the necessary effort remains; whereas 投机取巧 often means trying to skip the required effort to get the result directly.

bǐ rú比如，xué xí学习yī mén一门yǔ yán语言，běn lái本来xū yào需要rì jī yuè lěi日积月累dì地bèi背dān cí单词、liàn练tīng lì听力，dàn但yǒu rén有人zhǐ只bèi背le了jǐ gè几个“wàn néng万能jù zi句子”qù去yìng fù应付kǎo shì考试；huò zhě或者zài在gōng zuò工作zhōng中，běn lái本来xū yào需要zhā zhā shí shí扎扎实实dì地zuò做diào yán调研，dàn但yǒu rén有人suí biàn随便pīn còu拼凑le了yī xiē一些shù jù数据lái来hù nòng糊弄lǎo bǎn老板。

For example, learning a language requires accumulating vocabulary and practicing listening over time, but some people only memorize a few "universal sentences" to get through an exam; or at work, one should conduct solid research, but some people just patch together data to fool the boss.

zhè shí hòu这时候，wǒ men我们jiù就huì会shuō说：“zhè这shì是zài在tóu jī qǔ qiǎo投机取巧。”

In these cases, we would say: "This is 投机取巧."

wèi shén me为什么rén men人们bù不xǐ huān喜欢“tóu jī qǔ qiǎo投机取巧”？

Why do people dislike 投机取巧?

bìng并bú shì不是yīn wèi因为dà jiā大家jí dù嫉妒zhè zhǒng这种cōng míng聪明，ér shì而是yīn wèi因为zhè zhǒng这种dé lái得来de的chéng gōng成功，wǎng wǎng往往shì是fēi cháng非常cuì ruò脆弱de的。

It is not because people are jealous of this cleverness, but because success obtained this way is often very fragile.

shēng huó生活yǒu shí hòu有时候hěn很gōng píng公平。

Life is sometimes very fair.

nǐ你tiào跳guò过de的nà xiē那些bù zhòu步骤，qí shí其实dōu都shì是zài在wèi为wèi lái未来dǎ打dì jī地基。

The steps you skip are actually the foundation you should be building for the future.

tóu jī qǔ qiǎo投机取巧yě xǔ也许néng能ràng让nǐ你zàn shí暂时lǐng xiān领先，huò zhě或者ràng让nǐ你qīng sōng轻松guò guān过关，dàn但yīn wèi因为tā它méi yǒu没有gēn jī根基，yí dàn一旦yù dào遇到zhēn zhèng真正de的tiǎo zhàn挑战，hěn很róng yì容易jiù就huì会lòu xiàn露馅。

投机取巧 might let you take a temporary lead or pass a test easily, but because it has no foundation, it is easy to be exposed once a real challenge arises.

suǒ yǐ所以，zhè ge这个chéng yǔ成语qí shí其实shì是zài在tí xǐng提醒wǒ men我们：cōng míng聪明shì是hǎo shì好事，dàn但rú guǒ如果bǎ把cōng míng聪明dōu都yòng用zài在le了“rú hé如何tōu lǎn偷懒”shàng上，zuì hòu最后piàn骗dào到de的，kě néng可能qí shí其实shì是wǒ men我们zì jǐ自己。

Therefore, this idiom is actually reminding us: being smart is a good thing, but if all that intelligence is used on "how to be lazy," the one being fooled in the end might be ourselves.

xià cì下次，dāng当nǐ你miàn lín面临yí gè一个jiān nán艰难de的rèn wù任务，xīn lǐ心里nà ge那个xiǎng想“zǒu jié jìng走捷径”de的shēng yīn声音mào chū lái冒出来shí时，bù fáng不妨tí xǐng提醒zì jǐ自己yī xià一下：wǒ我kě yǐ可以zhuī qiú追求gāo xiào高效，dàn但wǒ我bù不yīng gāi应该tóu jī qǔ qiǎo投机取巧。

Next time you face a difficult task and that voice wanting to "take a shortcut" pops up, remind yourself: I can pursue efficiency, but I should not 投机取巧.

yīn wèi因为zhǐ yǒu只有yī bù一步yī bù一步zǒu走chū lái出来de的lù路，cái才shì是zhēn zhèng真正cǎi踩dé得wěn稳de的。

Because only the path walked step by step is truly stable.

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