shíjí (shí·jí ten · {(stair)step [→ [level; rank; grade; class]]} [→ [master/expert level (coll)]] 十级 十級) 👈🏼 Tap/click to show/hide the “flashcard”
[Notes: Tap/click on a Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to reveal its “flashcard”; tap/click on a “flashcard” or its Pīnyīn (Pīn·yīn {Piecing Together of} · Sounds → [Pinyin] 拼音) expression to hide the “flashcard”. 📖 📄 📘 icons mean 📖 Reveal All, 📄 Reveal Advanced, and 📘 Reveal None re all the “flashcards” in the heading, paragraph, etc. that they are placed at the beginning of.]
Recently, I noticed this week’s MEotW, “shíjí (shí·jí ten · {(stair)step [→ [level; rank; grade; class]]} [→ [master/expert level (coll)]] 十级 十級)”, being used colloquially to mean “master/expert level”. For example, I saw a humorous video in which “Zhōngwén (Zhōng·wén {Central → [Chinese]} · Writing 中文) shíjí (shí·jí ten · {(stair)step → [level]} → [expert level (coll)] 十级 十級)” was used to mean “Mandarin expert level”.
Morphemic Breakdown
In “shíjí (shí·jí ten · {(stair)step [→ [level; rank; grade; class]]} [→ [master/expert level (coll)]] 十级 十級)”, the first morpheme “shí (ten 十)” is the well-known one referring to the number “ten”. The other morpheme, “jí ((stair)step [→ [level; rank; grade; class]] 级 級)”, has an old meaning of “step”, as in “stairstep”, and is now used to effectively mean “level; rank; grade; class”.
Google Translate says that “shíjí (shí·jí ten · {(stair)step [→ [level; rank; grade; class]]} [→ [master/expert level (coll)]] 十级 十級)” means “Level 10”. However, the only dictionary entries referencing “shíjí (shí·jí ten · {(stair)step [→ [level; rank; grade; class]]} [→ [master/expert level (coll)]] 十级 十級)” that I could find were those for “shíjí‐fēng ((shí·jí ten · {(stair)step → [level]} 十级 十級)‐(fēng wind 风 風) → [force 10 wind (Beaufort scale)])”, (“force 10 wind”), which is a reference to the Beaufort wind force scale.
Expert at Speaking? Or Just Writing?
Web searches I have tried have turned up considerable numbers of occurrences of both “Zhōngwén (Zhōng·wén {Central → [Chinese]} · Writing 中文) shíjí (shí·jí ten · {(stair)step → [level]} → [expert level (coll)] 十级 十級)” and “Hànyǔ (Hàn·yǔ {Han (Chinese)} · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin] 汉语 漢語) shíjí (shí·jí ten · {(stair)step → [level]} → [expert level (coll)] 十级 十級)”. As discussed in the MEotW post on “Zhōngwén (Zhōng·wén {Central → [Chinese]} · Writing 中文)”, while this term is often used to mean “Chinese language”, including Chinese speech, it really means “Chinese writing”. (Character chauvinism strikes again!) So, to say someone is very good at speaking Mandarin, it would be better to describe them as “Hànyǔ (Hàn·yǔ {Han (Chinese)} · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin] 汉语 漢語) shíjí (shí·jí ten · {(stair)step → [level]} → [expert level (coll)] 十级 十級)”. or perhaps “pǔtōnghuà (pǔ·tōng·huà common · {through(out) → [common]} · speech → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin (term commonly used in China)] 普通话 普通話) shíjí (shí·jí ten · {(stair)step → [level]} → [expert level (coll)] 十级 十級)”:
English:
He is now at expert level in Mandarin!
Mandarin:
📖 📄 📘 Tā (he 他) xiànzài (xiàn·zài {is appearing → [is presently]} · {is (now) at} → [is now at] 现在 現在) Hànyǔ (Hàn·yǔ {Han (Chinese)} · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin] 汉语 漢語) shíjí (shí·jí ten · {(stair)step → [level]} → [expert level (coll)] 十级 十級)!
Keep in mind that a colloquial or slang expression like “Hànyǔ (Hàn·yǔ {Han (Chinese)} · Language → [(Modern Standard) Mandarin] 汉语 漢語) shíjí (shí·jí ten · {(stair)step → [level]} → [expert level (coll)] 十级 十級)” may not be familiar to everyone. Also, usages and meanings of such expressions can change and shift over time, and with different situations.
Is Being an Expert Bad?
Speaking of being an expert, is that a bad thing? Some of those around us, perhaps out of insecurity or jealousy, may seek to “keep us in our place” if we get “uppity”, exhibit “pretensions of grandeur”, and actually try to be good at something, perhaps better at it than they are. (Matthew 13:54–58) Also, the scriptures themselves warn us not be bragging and not to be puffed up with pride.—1 Corinthians 13:4.
However, God’s Word also encourages us to actually give Jehovah the best “sacrifice of praise” that we can. (Malachi 1:6–8; Hebrews 11:4; 13:15) So, ignore any insecure or jealous naysayers around you, and as Jesus said, “let your light shine” in the Mandarin field, even at shíjí (shí·jí ten · {(stair)step → [level]} → [expert level (coll)] 十级 十級) if you can, not to glorify yourself, but to glorify our heavenly Father Jehovah.—Matthew 5:16.