胸 有 城 府

xiōng yǒu chéng fǔdictionary entry

subtle way of thinking (idiom) / hard to fathom / deep and shrewd

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-1809b18692b9d6fc. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

胸有城府胸有城府 [xiong1 you3 cheng2 fu3] /subtle way of thinking (idiom); hard to fathom/deep and shrewd/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

胸
xiōng
chest / bosom / heart / mind / thorax
有
yǒu
to have / there is / (bound form) having / with / -ful / -ed / -al (as in 有意[yǒu yì] intentional)
城
chéng
city walls / city / town / CL:座[zuò],道[dào],個|个[gè]
府
fǔ
seat of government / government repository (archive) / official residence / mansion / presidential palace / (honorific) Your home / prefecture (from Tang to Qing times)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.