| 格物致知 |
gé wù zhì zhī |
to study the underlying principle to acquire knowledge (idiom); pursuing knowledge to the end |
| 格 |
gē |
used in 格登 / used in 格格 |
| 格 |
gé |
square; lattice; grid; frame / compartment; partition; slot (within a larger unit) / (bound form) standard; norm; specification / (bound form) character; disposition; moral quality; style; aesthetic tone / (bound form) rhetorical form; stylistic pattern / (bound form) (linguistics) grammatical case / (literary) to correct; to rectify / (literary) to arrive at; to reach / (literary) to obstruct; to hinder / (literary) to investigate exhaustively / classifier for compartments, slots or cells within a larger unit |
| 格物 |
gé wù |
to study the underlying principles, esp. in neo-Confucian rational learning 理学 / word for Western natural sciences during late Qing |
| 物 |
wù |
(bound form) thing / (literary) the outside world as distinct from oneself; people other than oneself |
| 致 |
zhì |
(bound form) fine; delicate; exquisite |
| 致 |
zhì |
(literary) to send; to transmit; to convey / (bound form) to cause; to lead to; consequently |
| 知 |
zhī |
to know / to be aware |