Usage patterns 〈 事こと 〉 は玄人向けだはくろうとむきだ to be suited for professionals/connoisseurs
This piece is for connoisseurs and is hard for beginners.
玄人くろうと の 目め で 見み る to look at something with a professional's eye
He judged the painting's value with a professional's eye.
玄人くろうと でも 〈 動詞どうし〉 〉 even a professional (does/can) ~
Even professionals sometimes make mistakes.
Kanji 玄 mysterious, occultness, black Related words· 6 プロ is the casual, modern loanword for professional (esp. in sports/business), while 玄人 carries an older, more traditional nuance of deep skill or refined taste.
専門家 is the neutral, formal word for a specialist or expert, whereas 玄人 has a more colloquial, old-fashioned flavor and can imply refined taste as well as skill.
名人 specifically praises someone as a master of exceptional, often celebrated skill, while 玄人 more broadly describes anyone who is a trained professional as opposed to an amateur.
通 highlights refined knowledge or taste in a hobby or subject, while 玄人 refers to a true professional or master of a craft.
Show 2 more Show fewer 玄人 emphasizes being a true insider/professional (often contrasted with 素人 ), whereas ベテラン simply highlights long experience.
玄人 simply means a seasoned professional as opposed to an amateur, while 達人 stresses an exceptionally high, almost legendary level of skill.
Don't confuse with The archaic sense of 黒人 (a woman of the pleasure quarters) shares its old くろうと reading with 玄人 , which today simply means 'expert' or 'professional', so the two are easily confused historically but mean very different things.
Word family professional circles; the pros
professionalism; the temperament of a professional
outdoing a professional; putting an expert to shame
Etymology An Edo-period counterpart to 素人 . A common explanation derives it from 黒人 , くろひと , “black person,” contracted to くろうと , but other explanations also exist; 玄人 became the standard spelling.
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