Taxonomy of meanings for 巧:　　

  • 巧 qiào (OC: khruus MC: kʰɯau) 苦教切 去 廣韻：【巧僞山海經曰義均始爲巧倕作百巧也又苦絞切 】
  • 巧 qiǎo (OC: khruuʔ MC: kʰɯau) 苦絞切 上 廣韻：【好也能也善也苦絞切又巧僞苦敎切二 】
    • SKILLFUL
      • nabactexercise of one's special skill
      • nabdispositiondexterity, adroitness; special skill; exercise of one's special skill CLEAN THE LATTER CASES OUT. INTRODUCE nab-act
      • vadNskilful (especially with one's tongue, in one's thought)
      • vadVskillfully
      • vibe possessed of high skill; be astute; be nimble, dexterous, adroit; artful
      • vt+prep+Nab{ACT}N=actbe crafty and deviously skilled with respect to (an activity)
      • vt+V[0]be skilled at
      • vtoNputativebe skilful with regard to
      • visubject=nonhumanskillfulCH
      • intellectually>INTELLIGENT
        • derogatory>CRAFTY
          • nabactguile; artful conduct, devious action
          • nabfeatureguile; artfulness
          • v[adN]nonreferentialthe crafty
          • vadNcrafty, wickedly shrewd, wily
          • vadVguilefully; craftily
          • vibe guileful, and shrewd
          • vtoNcausativecause to be guileful or crafty, cause to be excessively clever
          • vadNsuperficially crafty, pointlessly skillfulCH
          • vadNartfulCH
          • NPabactunderhand tricks
        • transitive>EXCEL
          • related action>CONFORM
            • vtoNconform craftily to, use all one's skill in conforming to
        • (late colloquial) grammaticalised>CONTINGENT

          Additional information about 巧

          說文解字: 【巧】，技也。 〔小徐本作「巧技也。」〕 从工、丂聲。 【苦絞切】

            Criteria
          • SKILLFUL

            1. The standard word for skilfulness is qiǎo 巧 (ant. zhuó 拙 "inept").

            2. Jié 捷 (ant. huǎn 緩 "slow and inefficient") emphasises a lightness of touch in the exercise of a high degree of skill.

            3. Mǐn 敏 (ant. yú 愚 "stupid and incompetent") refers to a very high degree of adeptness at a task.

            4. Jì 技 (ant. zhuó 拙 "incompetent") refers to a basic technical skill of no special distinction, and the word is almost always nominal.

          • BEAUTIFUL

            [ABSOLUTE/GRADED]

            [ACOUSTIC/VISUAL]

            [ARTIFICIAL/NATURAL]

            [[COMMON/RARE]]

            [ELEVATED/VULGAR]

            [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

            [HUMAN/NON-HUMAN]

            [POETIC/PROSAIC]

            1. The general word is měi 美 "handsome and admirable" (ant. è 惡 "ugly") which refers to anything concrete or abstract which is attractive or handsome in a dignified way, and the word often retains its primary culinary sense of "tasty".

            [GENERAL], [GRADED]; [[COMMON]]

            2. Lì 麗 (ant. sù 素 "unaodorned") is often restricted to physical objects, prototypically to clothes, and emphasises their balanced symmetric beauty, occasionally also - by analogy - the well-aligned symmetric beauty of mountains.

            [ELEVATED], [NON-HUMAN], [VISUAL!]

            3. Wén 文 (ant. zhì 質 "merely material") emphasises cultivated external as well as internal elegance as well as traditionalism.

            [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED], [NON-HUMAN], [VISUAL!]

            4. Yǎ 雅 (ant. sú 俗 "vulgar") emphasises primarily external elevated elegance.

            [ACOUSTIC!], [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED+], [NON-HUMAN]

            5. Hǎo 好 "comely, handsome" (ant. chǒu 醜 "ugly") refers indiscriminately to men and women, but the word is sometimes more general and even abstract in application and refers to attractive words or attractive moral qualities.

            [HUMAN!], [NATURAL], [VISUAL]

            6. Xiù 秀 "of vigorous and imposing beauty" focusses on flourishing and flamboyant beauty in analogy with that of flowers.

            [ELEVATED], [NATURAL], [NON-HUMAN], [POETIC], [VISUAL]; [[RARE]]

            7. Huá 華 "of striking and colourful beauty" (ant. sú 俗 "vulgar") focusses on flourishing and flamboyant superficial or only apparent beauty, on the analogy analogy with that of flowers.

            [ARTIFICIAL], [ELEVATED], NON-HUMAN], [SUPERFICIAL], [VISUAL]

            8. Zhuàng 壯 "stately" (ant. ruò 弱 "weak and unsightly") is virile beauty associated with strength and vigour. See STRONG

            [NATURAL], [MARGINAL], [POETIC]; [[RARE]]

            9. Jiā 佳 "of outstanding beauty" (NB: liè 劣 "unremarkable" is the ant. of jiā 佳 "outstanding", and not in the meaning of "outstandingly beautiful") emphasises comparative beauty compared to others in the same group.

            [GRADED], [ELEVATED], [NATURAL], [POETIC]

            10. Dū 都 "urbane and exquisitely beautiful" (ant. bì 鄙 "rustic and inelegant") is a highly poetic word that can only be used in elevated prose.

            [ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [POETIC], [VISUAL]; [[RARE]]

            11. Yán 妍 "attractive and exquisite (of humans as well as human products)" (ant. chì 蚩 "unattractive") refers to elaborate beauty. See SEXY.

            [ARCHAIC], [ELEVATED], [HUMAN], [POETIC]; [[RARE]]

            12. Xiū 脩 / 修 "refined moral beauty" refers to moral as well as physical beauty, thus coming close the Greek kalokagathia, but never approaching the latter in importance as a cultural keyword.

            <div>[ELEVATED], [ARTIFICIAL]; [[RARE]]</div><div><br></div><div>吳蓬，東方審美詞彙集萃，上海文藝出版社，2002 lists the following rough definitions of a variety of terms of aesthetic appreciation by the artist and scholar Wu Peng. Many of these terms express conventional appreciative flattery only. This list does provide one not particularly well-known artist's subjective readings of some basic terms of traditional Chinese aesthetic approbation.</div><div>勃：富有生机之突起。<br>苍：浓的，毛的，老练的。<br>沉：沉着不浮，有重量感。<br>冲：调成和淡之意向。<br>饬：整顿。<br>粗：大而不笨者。<br>淳：清，往往易薄，然而淳是清中滋润之厚。<br>醇：与淳略同，这醇是提炼后的滋润之厚。<br>绰：与"约"字合用，即舒而不纵之意。<br>澹：平静而有幽淡之趣。<br>淡：与浓艳相对。<br>宕：放荡不拘。<br>跌：往往与"宕"字合用，即是起伏明显之状。<br>端：方正而不出偏，有稳实感。<br>敦：很实在的，结实的厚。<br>繁：众而密，有生气。<br>方：与平正同义。<br>丰：饱满而充足。<br>风：审美中之"风"指的是一种气韵格调。<br>飞：大幅度的流动。<br>刚：属于阳性的，有正力的，与柔软相对。</div><div>高：俯视一切的、超然得不一般。<br>工：规矩，不潦草。<br>孤：自我独立。<br>古：旧气，更有历史的抗怀千载之迹象。<br>骨：内在的架子。<br>犷：是跟"雄悍"接近，在粗中发展开来。<br>瑰：不单调的美。<br>乖：不和顺。<br>憨：近于拙朴而敦实。<br>酣：厚润四溢。<br>豪：激动向上之貌，有气魄。<br>宏：大而有气度。<br>厚：有沉积的饱和。<br>华：明亮而艳丽。<br>环：长久圆融之境。<br>荒：与"枯简"接近，不修饰。<br>豁：与开朗接近，然比开朗明显。<br>恢：宽广有余。<br>浑：团然一气之象，有朦胧感。<br>简：经过一番整修的减少。<br>娇：美得可爱。<br>警：审美中用此警字，往往指敏锐、颖达。<br></div><div>劲：能察觉的力。<br>精：很到位。<br>隽：精致而具内涵之美。<br>娟：秀而婉丽。<br>崛：高起而突出。<br>俊：人材杰曲之美。<br>峻：山高而陡。在书画中是浓而锋利之用笔。<br>空：有灵气之空白。<br>枯：干而毛，生的萎缩，然亦是力的显露。<br>宽：大度而畅朗。<br>旷：广阔而空灵。<br>辣：是枯毛爽直的老笔触。<br>朗：明亮而豁然。<br>琅：圆而光润。<br>伦：是同类之意，带有文明意念。<br>冷：跟"淡"与"静”接近，与浓烈相对。<br>炼：精到而有功力。<br>淋：与"漓”往往合用，是无拘束的洒落。<br>流：明显的动感。<br>迈：阔而放的超势。<br>莽：宽广而繁密的，朴直奔放的。<br>袤：与"古"字合用，即悠长久远之趣。<br>茂：有生气的繁密。<br>媚：柔美之趣。<br>宓：安而静。<br>明：清晰有亮度。<br>凝：浓重而不流动。<br>懦：毫无火气之柔软。<br>平：一般的，接近于稳。<br>朴：原始状态，形象较准。<br>嫖：与"姚"字合用，即动疾之状，而有气势。<br>奇：不一般。<br>气：生发的，迎面直扑而来的感觉。<br>清：是混的相对。其间透出一股朗气。<br>峭：山之直而险，在书画中是露锋的侧锋用笔，有明显露<br>尖状态。文章中之峭，是意气直逼。<br>遒：婉转有致，内力强劲。<br>虬：与遒类似，但动感较强，弯曲而有力度。<br>意：诚实谨慎。<br>儒：代表文人之书卷气。<br>洒：散落无拘束。<br>赡：富有与丰实。若与"疏”、"逸”组合即成"澹”或"安"之义。</div><div>骚：审美中之骚字，可引伸为风骚至风流感。<br>韶：美丽有光泽。<br>涩：在不爽快的进程中，流露出内力之美。<br>深：不是浮面的。<br>神：精与气合。高端的。<br>生：不成熟，但比成熟有味。<br>肆：任意放纵。<br>松：松是灵活自然，是一切技巧之本要。<br>瘦：与粗笨相对，在审美中的"瘦"，是指细长而精练。<br>疏：一种稀少秀朗之美。<br>肃：有立即静穆下来之势。<br>率：与潦草随便有别，爽快而直接。<br>邃：深远而悠久。<br>阅：通达之意。<br>给：与"宕"合用，是安详舒放之趣。<br>天:很自然，一片天箱之"天"。<br>恬：安静而坦然。<br>挺：直而有生气。<br>婉：柔和而曲折。<br>温：是一种暖调与缓和的综合。</div><div>巍：往往与"峨"合用，是高大厚实之趣。<br>洗：与"炼”合用，即是"精炼"之意，凡物之洁出于洗。<br>犀：与"利"字合用，即坚利。<br>熙：光明，和乐。<br>细：指细而不纤。<br>娴：文静而雅致。<br>闲：一种高雅的自由。<br>萧：疏少有致。<br>潇：散朗而润泽。<br>馨：很醇厚的香气。<br>篁："篁古”是悠远辽阔之意。<br>雄：强大，有力度，有霸气。<br>秀：灵巧的，有生气的，美好的显露。<br>虚：表象空，但并非真空。<br>雅：文气而不俗。<br>妍：鲜美而柔性。<br>严：认真，不马虎。<br>淹：一种浸沉与精深明达之境。<br>野：超脱、不规范。<br>冶：经过一番精致修饰。<br>逸：悠闲的起伏。</div><div>意：精神倾向。<br>莹：透明而幽亮。<br>雍：往往与“容"字合用，有和顺之貌。<br>幽：静而深。<br>腴：肥润而饱和。<br>郁：厚积而有生气。<br>纤：与"迥"字合用，即弯环回绕之趣。<br>遹：与"瑰"字合用，即纤迥美丽之趣。<br>渊：往往与"懿"合用，是深润而悠美之趣。<br>圆：接近于饱满润滑。<br>蕴：与"藉"合用，即内涵丰富。<br>韵：一种余味不尽之趣。<br>恣：放纵的，无拘束的。<br>滋：湿润感。<br>自：出于本性的流露。<br>质：本体的，实在的。<br>纵：放逸无拘之状。<br>拙：接近朴，形不准。<br>庄：端正之貌。<br>卓：与“荤"合用，是突出明显之状。<br></div><div><br></div><br>

          • CRAFTY

            1. The most general word for craftiness as a negative quality is zhì 智, although very confusingly, this word can also refer to positive wisdom as a virtue.

            2. Jiǎo 狡 and huá 猾 (ant. dūn 敦 "obtuse" and perhaps dǔ 篤 "trusty but inept").

            3. Qiǎo 巧 (ant. zhuó 拙 "inept") is very common and emphasises the element of skill involved.

          • SHREWD

            巧

            Word relations
          • Ant: (CRAFTY)仁/BENEVOLENCE Rén 仁 (ant. cán 殘 "cruel" and perhaps ant.* rěn 忍 "be callous, unfeeling") which refers to kind-heartedness and deep human sensibility as a constitutive feature of man as a moral being, is the standard word since Confucius. [ETHICAL], [HIGH-DEGREE]
          • Ant: (SKILLFUL)拙/STUPID Zhuó 拙 (ant. jié 捷 "nimble") refers to practical ineptitude.
          • Ant: (SKILLFUL)鈍/STUPID Lǔ 魯 and dùn 鈍 (ant. huì 慧 "clever") refer to boorish and rustic bluntness of sensibility.
          • Epithet: (SKILLFUL)匠/CARPENTER
          • Contrast: (SKILLFUL)便/SKILLFUL
          • Contrast: (SKILLFUL)辯 / 辨/ELOQUENT The current general term for articulate rhetorical ability is biàn 辯 (ant. nè 訥 "be tongue-tied").
          • Contrast: (CRAFTY)智 / 知/INTELLIGENT The most general word for native ability to understand is zhī 知 (ant. wú zhī 無知 "lack the ability to understand"), but the word ranges in meaning from spiritual wisdom to technical competence.
          • Assoc: (SKILLFUL)工/CRAFT Gōng 工 is the general term for handicrafts.
          • Assoc: (CRAFTY)佞/FLATTER Nìng 佞 refers to rhetorically skilful sycophancy, and very often the meanings "rhetorically skilful" and "sycophantic" are hard to distinguish in context.
          • Assoc: (CRAFTY)技/SKILLFUL Jì 技 (ant. zhuó 拙 "incompetent") refers to a basic technical skill of no special distinction, and the word is almost always nominal.
          • Assoc: (CRAFTY)智/CRAFTY The most general word for craftiness as a negative quality is zhì 智, although very confusingly, this word can also refer to positive wisdom as a virtue.
          • Assoc: (CRAFTY)機/CRAFTY
          • Assoc: (CRAFTY)邪/WICKED Xié 邪 (ant. zhèng 正 "straight and in no way wicked") typically involves nuances of sinister evil influences in addition to plain human depravity.
          • Synon: (CRAFTY)智/CRAFTY The most general word for craftiness as a negative quality is zhì 智, although very confusingly, this word can also refer to positive wisdom as a virtue.
          • Synon: (CRAFTY)智 / 知/INTELLIGENT The most general word for native ability to understand is zhī 知 (ant. wú zhī 無知 "lack the ability to understand"), but the word ranges in meaning from spiritual wisdom to technical competence.