谈何容易 — “It is easier said than done”

谈何容易 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “it is easier said than done”. By no means an easy task; not as simple or straightforward as it may seem. Literally, “How can it be easy to speak of?”.

Frequency

谈何容易 Pronunciation and Pinyin

谈何容易 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
谈	tán	10	talk, discuss, converse
何	hé	7	what why how where
容	róng	10	contain, allow, appearance
易	yì	8	easy, change, or trade

Example Sentence with 谈何容易

想要一下子提高成绩，谈何容易，需要长时间的努力和坚持。

To improve one's academic performance significantly all at once, it's easier said than done; it requires long-term effort and persistence.

Origin and Story of 谈何容易

During the Western Han Dynasty, Dongfang Shuo, an attendant official, strongly opposed Emperor Wu's plan to expand the Shanglin Garden. He proposed strategies for strengthening the country through farming and warfare, but his advice was not adopted.

Feeling disheartened, he wrote 'On Master Fei You' (非有先生论), a fictional story.

In this story, Master Fei You served as an official in the state of Wu for three years, never expressing any political views, which puzzled the King of Wu.

Fei You then explained his silence by listing examples of officials like Guan Longfeng and Bi Gan who were killed for offering advice, thus illustrating how truly difficult it was for a subordinate to advise their sovereign.