足智多谋

• Pinyin: zú zhì duō móu
• Hanzi breakdown: 足 = 口 + 止 (sufficient); 智 = 知 + 日 (knowledge + sun — wisdom); 多 = 夕 + 夕 (many evenings — abundance); 谋 = 讠+ 某 (speech + certain — stratagem)

Meaning

Resourceful and full of stratagems; highly intelligent and skilled at devising plans. Describes someone with exceptional tactical wisdom.

A four-character idiom (成语) praising a person's ability to devise clever strategies in complex or difficult situations. Commonly used to describe military commanders, negotiators, business leaders, and historical figures. Positive in tone.

Examples

1. 诸葛亮被后世誉为足智多谋的战略家，其运筹帷幄之才令无数人叹服。 Zhuge Liang is honored by later generations as a resourceful strategist, and his talent for planning and command has won the admiration of countless people.
2. 在这场复杂的商业并购中，谈判代表展现出足智多谋的一面，化解了多次危机。 In this complex corporate merger and acquisition, the chief negotiator showed real strategic savvy and defused multiple crises.
3. 她虽然年纪轻轻，却足智多谋，带领团队在竞争激烈的市场中开拓出一片天地。 Though she is young, she is highly resourceful and led her team to carve out a place for themselves in a fiercely competitive market.

Usage Guide

Context: history, business, literature, praise

Tone: admiring

Do Say

• 他在危机时刻展现出足智多谋的领导风范，带领公司渡过了最艰难的一段时期。(In the moment of crisis he demonstrated the resourceful and strategically adept leadership style that guided the company through its most difficult period.)
• 历史上足智多谋的将领往往能以少胜多，以弱克强。(In history, generals who were full of resourcefulness and stratagems were often able to defeat larger forces with smaller ones.)

Don't Say

• 足智多谋地解决了今天的晚饭问题 — using this weighty idiom for trivial everyday decisions sounds comedic and undermines the gravity of the expression; reserve it for significant challenges

Origin & History

足 (sufficient) + 智 (wisdom) + 多 (many) + 谋 (stratagems/plans)

Cultural Context

Era: Classical

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal