未卜先知

Pronunciation: wèi bǔ xiān zhī Literal meaning: Knowing before divination

Origin & Usage

This idiom, 未卜先知 (wèi bǔ xiān zhī), is commonly used in classical Chinese literature to describe someone with the ability to foresee events without the need for traditional divination methods. The phrase literally translates to 'knowing before divination' and highlights a person's extraordinary foresight or intuition. The term '卜' (bǔ) refers to the ancient practice of divination, often involving the burning of turtle shells to predict the future. The idiom first appeared in the Yuan dynasty play 《桃花女》 (Tao Hua Nu), where it was used to describe a character's uncanny ability to predict outcomes without consulting the I Ching. In modern usage, 未卜先知 is applied to individuals who demonstrate remarkable insight or predictive abilities, often in business or strategic contexts.

Examples

English: "His ability to predict market trends seems almost supernatural."

Chinese: 他的市场趋势预测能力未卜先知，令人惊叹。