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三个臭皮匠，合成一个诸葛亮

sān gè chòu pí jiang , hé chéng yī gè Zhū gě Liàngdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. three ignorant cobblers add up to a genius (idiom) / fig. collective wisdom
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-7b5316d4d0c2321b. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

三個臭皮匠，合成一個諸葛亮 三个臭皮匠，合成一个诸葛亮 [san1 ge4 chou4 pi2 jiang5 , he2 cheng2 yi1 ge4 Zhu1 ge3 Liang4] /lit. three ignorant cobblers add up to a genius (idiom); fig. collective wisdom/

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.

Other forms in these source records: 三個臭皮匠，合成一個諸葛亮

  • 三
    sān

    three / 3

    Sān

    surname San

  • 个
    gě

    used in 自個兒|自个儿[zì gě r]

    gè

    (classifier used before a noun that has no specific classifier) / (bound form) individual

  • 臭
    chòu

    stench / smelly / to smell (bad) / repulsive / loathsome / terrible / bad / severely / ruthlessly / dud (ammunition)

    xiù

    sense of smell / smell bad

  • 皮
    pí

    skin / peel / rind / outer layer / leather / hide / fur / cover / wrapping / outer covering / (of food) no longer crisp / soggy / (coll.) naughty / mischievous / pico- (10⁻¹²)

    Pí

    surname Pi

  • 匠
    jiàng

    craftsman

  • 合
    gě

    100 ml / one-tenth of a peck / measure for dry grain equal to one-tenth of sheng 升 or liter, or one-hundredth dou 斗

    hé

    to close / to join / to fit / to be equal to / whole / together / round (in battle) / conjunction (astronomy) / 1st note of pentatonic scale

  • 成
    chéng

    to succeed / to finish / to complete / to accomplish / to become / to turn into / to be all right / OK! / one tenth

    Chéng

    surname Cheng / short name for Chengdu 成都[Chéng dū]

  • 一
    yī

    one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire / whole / all / throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yāo] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit

  • 个
    gě

    used in 自個兒|自个儿[zì gě r]

    gè

    (classifier used before a noun that has no specific classifier) / (bound form) individual

  • 诸
    zhū

    all / various

    Zhū

    surname Zhu

  • 葛
    gé

    kudzu (Pueraria lobata) / hemp cloth

    Gě

    surname Ge

  • 亮
    liàng

    bright / light / to shine / to flash / loud and clear / to show (one's passport etc) / to make public (one's views etc)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.