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一览无余 (yì lǎn wú yú) — to take in everything at a glance; to see the whole picture clearly

Definition

An idiom meaning you can see the entire scene at one glance, with nothing hidden. Used for sweeping, unobstructed views or a fully clear overview.

idiom
to take in everything at a glanceto see the whole picture clearly

Examples

  • ，一览无余。
    Zhàn zài shān dǐng shàng, zhěng gè chéng shì yì lǎn wú yú.
    Standing on the mountaintop, you can take in the whole city at a glance.
  • ，一览无余。
    Zhè fèn bào gào nèi róng quán miàn, ràng rén duì wèn tí yì lǎn wú yú.
    This report is comprehensive, allowing people to see the whole problem at a glance.
  • ，一览无余。
    Cóng fēi jī shàng wǎng xià kàn, dà dì jǐng sè yì lǎn wú yú.
    Looking down from the plane, the landscape of the earth is fully visible at a glance.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

一览a glance
一yīone览lǎnlook
偏正Modifier + head
无余no remainder
无wúlack余yúremainder
动宾Verb + object

一览 “a glance” and 无余 “no remainder” say one look leaves nothing hidden.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 覽; 览 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
監
監jiān覽lǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 覽 uses 見, meaning see, for the sense and 監 for the sound; the simplified 览 is a later shorthand.

Open 览 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 餘; 余 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
食食shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú餘Yú
Same sound today

The traditional form 餘 pairs 食 (food) with 余 as its sound part; the simplified 余 is a later abbreviation.

Open 余 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesSenses

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