开卷有益

開卷有益

kāijuàn-yǒuyì

idiom

Meanings

1 opening a book is always beneficial
2 reading always does some good

Characters

Examples

HSK 3

开卷有益，多读书总是好的。

Kāijuàn-yǒuyì, duō dúshū zǒngshì hǎo de.

Opening a book is always profitable; more reading is always good.

HSK 5

老师常说开卷有益，鼓励我们多读经典。

Lǎoshī cháng shuō kāijuàn-yǒuyì, gǔlì wǒmen duō dú jīngdiǎn.

Our teacher often says reading is always worthwhile and encourages us to read the classics.

Tips

history

Popularized by Song emperor Taizong (宋太宗), who committed to reading three scrolls of the massive 太平御览 encyclopedia every day. Courtiers worried it was too much; he replied 开卷有益, even opening a book does one some good. The phrase itself originates in Tao Qian's 与子俨等疏.

Stroke Order

开 kāi

卷 juǎn

有 yǒu

益 yì