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灵机一动

língjīyídòng

to have a sudden inspiration; to hit upon an idea

HSK 8 · Topic “Insight and attention”
A person snaps their fingers as a lightbulb lights up overhead
Memory picture

Characters in this word

灵 líng

Strokes
7
Radical
彐 — snout
Made of
彐 snout 火 fire, flame
How it's built
Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound

机 jī

Strokes
6
Radical
木 — tree
Made of
木 tree 几 small table
How it's built
Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
More about the character 机

一 yī

Strokes
1
Radical
一 — one
How it's built
Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts

动 dòng

Strokes
6
Radical
力 — strength, power
Made of
云 cloud 力 strength, power
How it's built
Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound

Example phrases

  • 他灵机一动，想出了一个把旧衣服改成书包的好办法。 Tā língjī yídòng, xiǎng chū le yí gè bǎ jiù yīfu gǎi chéng shūbāo de hǎo bànfǎ. In a flash of inspiration, he thought of a good way to turn old clothes into a school bag.
  • 我正发愁怎么过河，灵机一动，用竹竿搭了一座小桥。 Wǒ zhèng fāchóu zěnme guò hé, língjī yídòng, yòng zhúgān dā le yí zuò xiǎo qiáo. I was worrying about how to cross the river when an idea struck me, and I built a small bridge from bamboo poles.
  • 她灵机一动，用糖纸折了一只小纸鹤送给妹妹。 Tā língjī yídòng, yòng tángzhǐ zhé le yì zhī xiǎo zhǐhè sòng gěi mèimei. In a flash of inspiration, she folded a little paper crane from a candy wrapper and gave it to her younger sister.

Related words

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