十有八九 shí yǒu bā jiǔ ten out of nine

Explanation

表示可能性极大，几乎肯定。

It expresses a very high probability, almost certainly.

Origin Story

从前，有个村庄，村里有个老算命先生，算命很准。有一天，一个年轻人来问他：“先生，我这次去参加考试，能考上吗？”老先生捋着胡须，想了想，说：“十有八九能考上。”年轻人一听，心里乐开了花。他回去后更加努力学习，结果真的考上了理想的大学。从此，十有八九成了家喻户晓的词语，用来形容可能性极大。

cong qian, you ge cun zhuang, cun li you ge lao suan ming xian sheng, suan ming hen zhun. you yi tian, yi ge qing nian lai wen ta: xian sheng, wo zhe ci qu can jia kao shi, neng kao shang ma? lao xian sheng lv zhe hu xu, xiang le xiang, shuo: shi you ba jiu neng kao shang. qing nian yi ting, xin li le kai le hua. ta hui qu hou geng jia nu li xue xi, jie guo zhen de kao shang le li xiang de da xue. cong ci, shi you ba jiu cheng le jia yu hu xiao de ci yu, yong lai xing rong ke neng xing ji da.

Once upon a time, there was a village with an old fortune teller who was known for his accurate predictions. One day, a young man came to ask him, "Sir, will I pass my upcoming exam?" The old man stroked his beard and pondered, "Ten out of nine times, you'll succeed." The young man was overjoyed. He studied even harder, and indeed passed his exam and entered his dream university. Since then, "十有八九" became widely used to describe a high probability of success.

Usage

主要用于口语，表示可能性极大，几乎是必然的事件。

zhu yao yong yu kou yu, biao shi ke neng xing ji da, ji hu shi bi ran de shi jian

Mainly used in spoken language, indicating a very high probability, almost a certain event.

Examples

• 这次考试，我十有八九能考一百分！

  zhe ci kao shi, wo shi you ba jiu neng kao yi bai fen

  I'm almost certain to get a hundred on this exam!

Related Idioms

• 十之八九

• 九成

Opposite Idioms

• 少之又少

• 微乎其微