迎刃而解

yíngrèn'érjiě

idiom #22,405

Meanings

1 (of a problem) to be solved easily
2 to resolve itself
3 to be easily dealt with once you get started

Characters

to meet / to face / to go toward

blade / cutting edge

and then / as a result (classical connective)

to split apart / to resolve / to solve

Examples

HSK 5

只要掌握了方法，难题自然迎刃而解。

Zhǐyào zhǎngwò le fāngfǎ, nántí zìrán yíngrèn'érjiě.

Once you master the method, difficult problems will naturally solve themselves.

HSK 7-9

找到了问题的根源，其他麻烦就迎刃而解了。

Zhǎodào le wèntí de gēnyuán, qítā máfan jiù yíngrèn'érjiě le.

Once the root cause was found, all the other problems resolved themselves easily.

Tips

history

From the Jin dynasty (265-420 AD) general Du Yu 杜预, who described his military success: when the blade meets the bamboo along the grain (迎刃), the bamboo splits effortlessly all the way down. This describes a breakthrough that makes everything that follows easy.

Stroke Order

迎 yíng

刃 rèn

而 ér

解 jiě