轻而易举

• Pinyin: qīng ér yì jǔ
• Hanzi breakdown: 轻 = 车 + 圣 (light/trivial); 而 = 而 (connective particle); 易 = 日 + 勿 (easy/change); 举 = 兴 + 手 (lift/raise)

Meaning

Easy to accomplish; effortlessly done. Literally: as light and easy as lifting something. Describes something achieved with minimal effort.

Used to describe tasks or achievements completed with ease, often to contrast with their apparent difficulty or to praise skill. Can carry admiration or, in some contexts, a subtle irony about the effort involved.

Examples

1. 对于经验丰富的工程师来说，修复这个漏洞简直轻而易举。 For an experienced engineer, fixing this vulnerability is a piece of cake.
2. 他轻而易举地赢得了比赛，赛场上的观众不禁为之喝彩欢呼。 He won the match with ease, and the crowd couldn’t help but cheer.
3. 这道数学题看似复杂，但她轻而易举就推导出了正确答案。 The math problem looked complicated, but she derived the correct answer effortlessly.

Usage Guide

Context: praise, comparison, narrative

Tone: admiring

Do Say

• 她轻而易举地完成了别人眼中难以逾越的挑战，令所有人刮目相看。(She effortlessly overcame a challenge that others considered insurmountable, impressing everyone.)
• 对训练有素的运动员来说，这段赛程轻而易举，完全不在话下。(For a well-trained athlete, this course is effortlessly manageable and poses no challenge at all.)

Don't Say

• 这件极其重大的事情可以轻而易举地解决 — use cautiously for genuinely serious matters; 轻而易举 can imply underestimation and may come across as dismissive of real complexity

Origin & History

轻 (light) + 而 (and/then) + 易 (easy) + 举 (lift/raise) — as light and easy as lifting something in one's hand

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal