获益匪浅 (huò yì fěi jiān) — to benefit greatly; to gain a lot (usually from a specific experience or resource)

Definition

A set idiom meaning 'to gain a great deal' — usually from reading, a lecture, or a specific experience. 匪 means 'not'; 浅 means 'little', so together 'the benefit is far from slight'.

idiom
to benefit greatlyto gain a lot (usually from a specific experience or resource)

Examples

  • ，获益匪浅。
    Cóng zhè cì jiǎng zuò zhōng, wǒ huò yì fěi jiān.
    I benefited greatly from this lecture.
  • 获益匪浅，。
    Dú zhè běn shū ràng wǒ huò yì fěi jiān, xué dào le hěn duō xīn zhī shi.
    Reading this book benefited me a lot; I learned a lot of new knowledge.
  • ，获益匪浅。
    Tōng guò yǔ zhuān jiā de jiāo liú, wǒ huò yì fěi jiān.
    Through the exchange with the expert, I gained a great deal.

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.

获益gain benefit
获huògain益yìbenefit
动宾Verb + object
匪浅not shallow
匪fěinot浅qiǎnshallow
偏正Modifier + head

获益 is the benefit gained, and 匪浅 says it is not shallow.

Characters in this word

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 獲; 获 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犭Written in full as犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
蒦
蒦huò獲huò
Same sound today

The traditional form 獲 combines 犭 (dog) with 蒦, a sound part, to show catching animals with a dog. The simplified 获 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 获 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

益 puts 水 (water) above 皿 (a vessel), originally showing water overflowing the vessel.

Open 益 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
匚匚fāngbox
Sound part声符shēngfú
非
非fēi匪fěi
Same sound today

匪 is built from 匚, a box, plus 非, which gives the sound.

Open 匪 →

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 淺; 浅 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
戔
戔jiān淺qiǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 淺 pairs 氵 (water) with 戔 to give the sound; 浅 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 浅 →

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