切磋琢磨

Chinese

		to cut and polish; to compare notes; to learn from each other	to carve and polish; to polish and refine a literary work
trad. (切磋琢磨)		切磋	琢磨
simp. #(切磋琢磨)		切磋	琢磨
alternative forms		切瑳琢磨

Etymology

From the Classic of Poetry, poem 55 (《詩經·衞風·淇奧》):

瞻彼淇奧，綠竹猗猗。
有匪君子，如切如磋，如琢如磨。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

瞻彼淇奥，绿竹猗猗。
有匪君子，如切如磋，如琢如磨。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Zhān bǐ Qí yù, lǜ zhú yīyī.
Yǒu fěi jūnzǐ, rú qiē rú cuō, rú zhuó rú mó. [Pinyin]

Look at those recesses in the banks of the Qi [river], with their green bamboos, so fresh and luxuriant!
There is our elegant and accomplished prince, as from the knife and the file, as from the chisel and the polisher!

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): qiēcuōzhuómó

  (Zhuyin): ㄑㄧㄝ ㄘㄨㄛ ㄓㄨㄛˊ ㄇㄛˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): cit³ co¹ doek³ mo⁴

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: qiēcuōzhuómó
    • Zhuyin: ㄑㄧㄝ ㄘㄨㄛ ㄓㄨㄛˊ ㄇㄛˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: ciecuojhuómó
    • Wade–Giles: chʻieh¹-tsʻo¹-cho²-mo²
    • Yale: chyē-tswō-jwó-mwó
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chietsuojwomo
    • Palladius: цецочжомо (cecočžomo)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕʰi̯ɛ⁵⁵ t͡sʰu̯ɔ⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂu̯ɔ³⁵ mu̯ɔ³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: cit³ co¹ doek³ mo⁴
    • Yale: chit chō deuk mòh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsit⁸ tso¹ doek⁸ mo⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: qid³ co¹ dêg³ mo⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰiːt̚³ t͡sʰɔː⁵⁵ tœːk̚³ mɔː²¹/

Idiom

切磋琢磨

1. (original meaning) to carve and polish (bones, horns, ivory and jade)
2. (figurative) to learn by exchanging ideas and experiences; friendly competition; improvement by learning from others

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (切磋琢磨):

• → Japanese: 切磋琢磨(せっさたくま) (sessatakuma)
• → Korean: 절차탁마(切磋琢磨) (jeolchatangma)
• → Vietnamese: thiết tha trác ma (切磋琢磨)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
切	磋	琢	磨
せつ > せっ Grade: 2	さ Hyōgai	たく Jinmeiyō	ま Grade: S
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
切磋琢磨 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 切磋琢磨.

Noun

切(せっ)磋(さ)琢(たく)磨(ま) • (sessatakuma) 

1. applying oneself and studying hard to cultivate oneself
2. friendly competition, improving oneself by learning from others

Verb

切(せっ)磋(さ)琢(たく)磨(ま)する • (sessatakuma suru) suru (stem 切(せっ)磋(さ)琢(たく)磨(ま)し (sessatakuma shi), past 切(せっ)磋(さ)琢(たく)磨(ま)した (sessatakuma shita))

1. apply oneself and study hard to improve oneself
2. try to improve by learning from others

Conjugation

Conjugation of "切磋琢磨する" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	切磋琢磨し	せっさたくまし	sessatakuma shi
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	切磋琢磨し	せっさたくまし	sessatakuma shi
Shūshikei ("terminal")	切磋琢磨する	せっさたくまする	sessatakuma suru
Rentaikei ("attributive")	切磋琢磨する	せっさたくまする	sessatakuma suru
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	切磋琢磨すれ	せっさたくますれ	sessatakuma sure
Meireikei ("imperative")	切磋琢磨せよ¹ 切磋琢磨しろ²	せっさたくませよ¹ せっさたくましろ²	sessatakuma seyo¹ sessatakuma shiro²
Key constructions
Passive	切磋琢磨される	せっさたくまされる	sessatakuma sareru
Causative	切磋琢磨させる 切磋琢磨さす	せっさたくまさせる せっさたくまさす	sessatakuma saseru sessatakuma sasu
Potential	切磋琢磨できる	せっさたくまできる	sessatakuma dekiru
Volitional	切磋琢磨しよう	せっさたくましよう	sessatakuma shiyō
Negative	切磋琢磨しない	せっさたくましない	sessatakuma shinai
Negative continuative	切磋琢磨せず	せっさたくませず	sessatakuma sezu
Formal	切磋琢磨します	せっさたくまします	sessatakuma shimasu
Perfective	切磋琢磨した	せっさたくました	sessatakuma shita
Conjunctive	切磋琢磨して	せっさたくまして	sessatakuma shite
Hypothetical conditional	切磋琢磨すれば	せっさたくますれば	sessatakuma sureba
¹ Written imperative ² Spoken imperative

References

• “切^▲磋^▲琢磨”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎ (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2025
• The Kōjien (広辞苑) Dictionary of the Japanese Language, 5th edition, Iwanami Shoten Publishing, Tokyo.