等闲之辈

等閒之輩

děngxiánzhībèi

idiom #39,149

Meanings

1 an ordinary person; a nobody (chiefly in the negative — 'no ordinary person')

Characters

(possessive particle)

kind; sort of person

Examples

他能解决这个难题，绝非等闲之辈。

Tā néng jiějué zhège nántí, jué fēi děngxiánzhībèi.

If he can solve this problem, he's no ordinary person.

这位棋手不是等闲之辈，连冠军都输给他。

Zhè wèi qíshǒu bú shì děngxiánzhībèi, lián guànjūn dōu shū gěi tā.

This chess player is no slouch — even the champion lost to him.

Tips

usage

Almost always negated. The standard frame is 不是等闲之辈 / 非等闲之辈 — 'is no ordinary person.' Saying someone IS a 等闲之辈 is grammatical but rare and dismissive.

history

Recorded in Luo Guanzhong's 《三国演义》: 魏有邓艾，足智多谋，非等闲之辈 — 'Wei has Deng Ai, resourceful and shrewd; he's no ordinary person.'

Stroke Order

等 děng

闲 xián

之 zhī

辈 bèi