玄人くろうとはだし

く

ろ

う

と

は

だ

し

Meanings

1

noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'

outdoing a professional; putting an expert to shame

Describes an amateur whose skill is so high that it surpasses that of a professional. Often used in the pattern 玄人はだしの〜 to modify a noun.

彼かれの料りょう理りの腕うで前まえは玄人くろうとはだしだ。
His cooking skills are good enough to put a professional to shame.

玄人くろうとはだしの演えん奏そうに、会かい場じょうは驚おどろきに包つつまれた。

The audience was amazed by the performance that rivaled that of a professional.

Kanji

玄mysterious, occultness, black
人person
裸naked, nude, uncovered
足leg, foot, be sufficient
跣barefooted

Related words

素人しろうとはだし
Means 'even an amateur can do it' or 'so simple an amateur could do it', the opposite nuance of 玄人はだし.
玄人くろうと
Means 'professional' or 'expert'. 玄人はだし describes an amateur who surpasses such a person.

Written forms

玄人くろうとはだし
Standard mixed kanji-kana spelling. The kana portion はだし avoids the rare kanji 裸足/跣.
玄人裸足くろうとはだし
Full kanji spelling using 裸足. Less common but still encountered.
玄人くろうと跣はだし
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form using 跣. It is rarely used.

Etymology

Compound of 玄人 (くろうと, 'professional') and はだし ('barefoot'), literally 'barefoot professional'. The はだし here figuratively means 'to surpass' or 'to outstrip', as if the amateur is so skilled that the professional is left barefoot (i.e., unable to keep up).