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万事俱备 (wàn shì jù bèi) — everything is ready; all preparations are in place

Definition

Set chengyu meaning 'everything is ready' — used for final confirmation that all preparations are done before a key step. From the story of the Battle of Red Cliffs (只欠东风).

verb
everything is readyall preparations are in place

Examples

  • 万事俱备，。
    Wǒ men yǐ jīng wàn shì jù bèi, jiù děng kè hù qiān zì le.
    We've already got everything ready; we're just waiting for the client to sign.
  • ，万事俱备。
    Chū fā qián jiǎn chá yí biàn, què rèn wàn shì jù bèi zài zǒu.
    Check everything one more time before departure; make sure all is ready before you go.
  • ，。
    Xiàng mù fāng àn yǐ jīng xiū gǎi wán bì, xiàn zài zhǐ qiàn dōng fēng le.
    The project proposal is fully revised — now it's all set except for the final push.

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.

万事all matters
万wànall事shìmatters
偏正Modifier + head
俱备all ready
俱jùall备bèiready
偏正Modifier + head

万事 means all matters, and 俱备 means all are ready; together they say preparations are complete.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 萬; 万 is its simplified writing.

For 万, the form 萬 was originally a picture of a scorpion, later borrowed for its sound to write 'ten thousand'; the scorpion picture is unrelated to that number.

Open 万 →

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

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →

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
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
具
具jù俱jù
Same sound today

俱 pairs 亻, a form of 人 (person), with 具 as the sound part.

Open 俱 →

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 備; 备 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 備 shows a person carrying a quiver, matching the meaning 'ready; prepared'; the simplified 备 is a later abbreviation.

Open 备 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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