瓮中捉鳖

甕中捉鱉
wèngzhōng-zhuōbiē
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 to catch a turtle in a jar
  2. 2 to go after easy prey
  3. 3 a sure thing; in the bag

Examples

HSK 3
Bǐsài jìnrù zuìhòu yī fēnzhōng, shènglì yǐ shì wèngzhōng-zhuōbiē.
Going into the final minute, victory was already in the bag.
HSK 5
Dírén yǐ bèi bāowéi, zhuā tāmen jiǎnzhí shì wèngzhōng-zhuōbiē.
The enemy is surrounded - catching them is like grabbing a turtle in a jar.
HSK 6
Jǐngchá bù hǎole wǎng, duì xiánfàn láishuō jiùshì wèngzhōng-zhuōbiē.
The police laid a net - for the suspect, it was a sure capture.

Tips

history
From the Yuan-dynasty zaju play 李逵负荆 by Kang Jinzhi: 这是揉着我山儿的痒处,管教他瓮中捉鳖,手到拿来 - once a turtle is dropped into a jar, scooping it out is trivial.

Stroke Order

wèng
zhōng
zhuō
biē