一览无遗 (yī lǎn wú yí) — (idiom) to take in everything at a glance; to get a commanding view of the whole

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'to see everything at a single glance — nothing hidden'. Used for sweeping views, panoramic exhibits, or writing that covers a subject completely.

idiom
to take in everything at a glanceto get a commanding view of the whole

Examples

  • ，一览无遗。
    Cóng shān dǐng wàng qù, zhěng gè chéng shì yī lǎn wú yí.
    Looking down from the mountaintop, you can see the whole city at a glance.
  • 一览无遗。
    Bó wù guǎn de zhǎn tīng shè jì ràng suǒ yǒu zhǎn pǐn yī lǎn wú yí.
    The exhibition hall design allows all exhibits to be seen at a glance.
  • 一览无遗，。
    Zhè piān wén zhāng duì shì jiàn de miáo shù yī lǎn wú yí, fēi cháng qīng xī.
    This article's description of the event takes everything in at a glance — it's very clear.

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one glance
一yīone览lǎnlook
偏正Modifier + head
无遗no omission
无wúwithout遗yíomission
动宾Verb + object

一览 'one glance' and 无遗 'no omission' combine to mean seeing everything without missing any detail.

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 遺; 遗 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuòmove
Sound part声符shēngfú
貴
貴guì遺yí
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 遺 pairs 辶 (move) with 貴 as a sound part; the simplified 遗 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the old sound part.

Open 遗 →

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