知易行难

知易行難

zhīyì-xíngnán

idiom

Meanings

1 easier said than done; knowing is easy but doing is hard

Characters

Examples

HSK 5

理论学起来不难，实践中却知易行难。

Lǐlùn xué qǐlái bùnán, shíjiàn zhōng què zhīyìxíngnán.

The theory is easy to grasp, but in practice it's much harder to apply.

HSK 7-9

戒烟的道理谁都懂，但知易行难。

Jièyān de dàolǐ shéi dōu dǒng, dàn zhīyìxíngnán.

Everyone understands why one should quit smoking, but it's easier said than done.

Tips

history

Rooted in 《尚书·说命中》: 非知之艰，行之惟艰 - Fu Yue's counsel to the Shang king that 'knowing is not the hard part; doing is.' Sun Yat-sen famously inverted this into 知难行易 (zhīnánxíngyì) in his political philosophy.

Stroke Order

知 zhī

易 yì

行 xíng

难 nán