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談何容易

简谈何容易 · 繁談何容易

Mandarin · pinyin tán hé róng yì

easier said than done (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

談: tán · talk; conversation; surname
何: hé · what, why, where, which, how
容: róng · looks, appearance; figure, form
易: yì · change; easy
谈: tán · talk; conversation; surname

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–2–4 · tan2 he2 rong2 yi4

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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.

談何容易 · find source passages ↗ · 谈何容易 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

taam4 ho4 jung4 ji6

Cantonese word readings for 談何容易. 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 · Etymology 1

(chiefly obsolete) it is no easy matter to give good advice (especially to one's superior); to speak is difficult

phrase · Etymology 2

(idiomatic) easier said than done

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

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