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易如反掌

Mandarin · pinyin yì rú fǎn zhǎng

easy as a hand's turn (idiom); very easy
no effort at all

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Characters in this entry

易: yì · change; easy
如: rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
反: fǎn · reverse, opposite, contrary, anti
掌: zhǎng · palm of hand, sole of foot, paw

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2–3–3 · yi4 ru2 fan3 zhang3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ji6 jyu4 faan2 zoeng2

Cantonese word readings for 易如反掌. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(simile) easy as ABC; simple as kiss your hand

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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