不费吹灰之力

不費吹灰之力

bùfèichuīhuīzhīlì

idiom

Meanings

1 as easy as blowing away dust
2 effortlessly
3 a piece of cake

Characters

(possessive particle)

力

lì

strength, effort

Examples

他不费吹灰之力就解决了这个问题。

Tā bùfèichuīhuīzhīlì jiù jiějué le zhège wèntí.

He solved the problem without breaking a sweat.

对他来说，做这道题不费吹灰之力。

Duì tā láishuō, zuò zhè dào tí bùfèichuīhuīzhīlì.

For him, solving this problem takes no effort at all.

我们的队伍不费吹灰之力就赢了比赛。

Wǒmen de duìwǔ bùfèichuīhuīzhīlì jiù yíng le bǐsài.

Our team won the match without lifting a finger.

Tips

memory

Literally 'not needing even the force of blowing dust' — blowing dust is the least effort imaginable, yet even that isn't required.

Informal-to-neutral. Works in speech and writing. Often paired with 就 to lead into the thing achieved effortlessly.

Stroke Order

不 bù

费 fèi

吹 chuī

灰 huī

之 zhī

力 lì