游刃有余 (yóu rèn yǒu yú) — to handle a task with effortless skill; to be more than equal to a challenge

Definition

An idiom from a kitchen-knife image: cutting so smoothly that the blade has 'room to spare.' Means handling a hard task with skill and ease — more vivid and literary than simply saying something is 'easy.'

idiom
to handle a task with effortless skillto be more than equal to a challenge

Examples

  • ,游刃有余。
    Tā shì gōng sī lǐ zuì yǒu jīng yàn de gōng chéng shī, chǔ lǐ zhè zhǒng jì shù nán tí yóu rèn yǒu yú.
    He is the most experienced engineer in the company, handling this kind of technical problem with ease.
  • ,,游刃有余。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù suī rán fù zá, dàn tā jīng yàn fēng fù, zuò dé yóu rèn yǒu yú.
    Although this project is complex, she is experienced and handles it effortlessly.
  • ,游刃有余。
    Miàn duì jī liè de jìng zhēng, wǒ men de tuán duì yī rán yóu rèn yǒu yú.
    Facing fierce competition, our team still managed with skill and ease.

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.

游刃moving the blade
游yóumove刃rènblade
动宾Verb + object
有余having room
有yǒuhave余yúroom
动宾Verb + object

刃 is the blade, 游 suggests moving, and 有余 means having room; together they picture the blade moving with plenty of space.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
斿
斿yóu游yóu
Same sound today

游 combines 水 (water) with 斿, which gives the sound yóu and also relates to travelling.

Open 游 →

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

刃 is a knife with a mark on the blade, pointing to the sharp edge.

Open 刃 →

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →

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
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 →

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