易如反掌 — “Extremely easy to do”
易如反掌 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Extremely easy to do”. Effortless; a cinch. Literally, “As easy as turning over the palm”.
Frequency
易如反掌 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 易yì
- 如rú
- 反fǎn
- 掌zhǎng
易如反掌 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 易如反掌
对于他来说，完成这项任务简直易如反掌，他很快就处理好了。
For him, completing this task was a piece of cake; he handled it very quickly.
Origin and Story of 易如反掌
During the Warring States period, the great philosopher Mencius advocated for "benevolent governance" and the "kingly way."
His disciple, Gongsun Chou, once asked him if he could achieve as much in the State of Qi as Guan Zhong and Yan Ying had.
Mencius was displeased and responded, "Guan Zhong assisted Duke Huan of Qi, and Yan Ying assisted Duke Jing of Qi. Given that the State of Qi was vast and densely populated, implementing the kingly way to unify the world would be as easy as turning over one's palm."
Idioms Related to 易如反掌
Synonyms of 易如反掌
Antonyms of 易如反掌
More idioms starting with 易
- yì易yú于fǎn反shǒu手extremely easy, like turning one's hand
- yì易yú于fǎn反zhǎng掌as easy as turning over one's hand
- yì易yú于shí拾yí遗extremely easy to do
- yì易sú俗yí移fēng风change customs and transform society
- yì易kǒu口yǐ以shí食exchange children for food
- yì易tóng同fǎn反zhǎng掌easy as turning over one's hand
- yì易dì地zé则jiē皆rán然In the same situation, all would be the same
- yì易dì地jiē皆rán然same under different circumstances
- yì易dì地ér而chǔ处put oneself in another's shoes
- yì易rú如shí拾jiè芥as easy as picking up mustard seeds
- yì易rú如pò破zhú竹as easy as splitting bamboo
- yì易rú如fān翻zhǎng掌easy as turning over one's palm
Questions about 易如反掌
- What does 易如反掌 mean?
- 易如反掌 (yì rú fǎn zhǎng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Extremely easy to do”.
- How do you pronounce 易如反掌?
- 易如反掌 is pronounced yì rú fǎn zhǎng in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 易如反掌 literally mean?
- Literally, 易如反掌 means “as easy as turning over the palm”. It is used to mean “Extremely easy to do”.
- Where does 易如反掌 come from?
- 易如反掌 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 易如反掌?
- 象翻一下手掌那样容易。比喻事情非常容易做。