胸有成竹
xiōng yǒu chéng zhú
to have the whole plan in mind
Character by character
胸xiōng
chest
chest
有yǒu
has
has
成chéng
finished
finished
竹zhú
bamboo
bamboo
Example
对于这次比赛，他胸有成竹。
He's fully confident about this competition.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
From Su Shi on the painter Wen Tong, who had the whole bamboo in his mind before he picked up the brush.
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