HSK 6 · Ideas

一举两得 yìjǔliǎngdé “to kill two birds with one stone” in Chinese

Said as yìjúliǎngdé

Traditional 一舉兩得

What 一举两得 means

  1. to kill two birds with one stone
  2. (lit.) one action, two gains (idiom)
  3. (fig.) two birds with one stone

How to say 一举两得

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale一yì4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale举jǔ3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale两liǎng3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale得dé2nd tone, rising

Said as yìjúliǎngdé. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. How tone changes work

一举两得 in a sentence

  1. 骑自行车上班既锻炼身体又省钱，一举两得。

    Qí zìxíngchē shàngbān jì duànliàn shēntǐ yòu shěngqián, yìjǔliǎngdé.

    Cycling to work keeps you fit and saves money: two birds with one stone.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 一边散步一边听中文，真是一举两得。

    Yìbiān sànbù yìbiān tīng Zhōngwén, zhēn shì yìjǔliǎngdé.

    Listening to Chinese while you go for a walk kills two birds with one stone.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 一举两得 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 一 (yī) drawn as one shape
一yīoneyì in 一举两得

一 is a single shape of 1 stroke. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidOne stroke for one, the way people once counted with rods.

The character 举 (jǔ) with each of its parts in a different colour
举jǔto lift
  • 兴to thrive · xīng
  • 扌hand form of 手 · shǒuMeaning part

扌 hints at the meaning (hand); 舉 () hints at the sound. Compare it with jǔ.

The character 两 (liǎng) with each of its parts in a different colour
两liǎngtwo
  • 一one · yī
  • 冂down box · jiōng
  • 从from · cóng
The character 得 (de) with each of its parts in a different colour
得déto obtain
  • 彳step · chì
  • 旦dawn · dàn
  • 寸inch · cùn

Memory aidA hand 寸 picking up a shell, once used as money, while out on the road 彳: to get.

How to write 一举两得

一 1 strokes · 举 9 strokes · 两 7 strokes · 得 11 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

一举两得 (yìjǔliǎngdé) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 一举两得 (yìjǔliǎngdé). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 一举两得

Words with 一

一yī · one一半yībàn · half一些yīxiē · some一点儿yìdiǎnr · a little一起yìqǐ · together第一dìyī · first一下yíxià · (after a verb) briefly一般yìbān · general一定yídìng · surely一共yígòng · altogether

Words with 举

举jǔ · to lift举办jǔbàn · to conduct举行jǔxíng · to hold (a meeting列举lièjǔ · to list选举xuǎnjǔ · to elect举动jǔdòng · act举足轻重jǔzúqīngzhòng · to play a decisive role举世瞩目jǔshìzhǔmù · to attract worldwide attention

Words with 两

两liǎng · two (of)

Words with 得

得de · particle linking a verb to how it is done (e.g. 跑得快觉得juéde · to feel记得jìde · remember得到dédào · to get得分défēn · to score (points)懂得dǒngde · to understand认得rènde · to recognise获得huòdé · to obtain得意déyì · proud of oneself值得zhíde · to be worth

More words: Ideas & Concepts

要素yàosù · key element遗产yíchǎn · heritage一帆风顺yìfānfēngshùn · plain sailing依据yījù · basis隐患yǐnhuàn · hidden danger意图yìtú · intention意向yìxiàng · intention优胜劣汰yōushèngliètài · survival of the fittest

FAQs

一举两得 (yìjǔliǎngdé) means “to kill two birds with one stone” or “(lit.) one action, two gains (idiom)”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it yìjǔliǎngdé: yì with a 4th tone, then jǔ with a 3rd tone, then liǎng with a 3rd tone, then dé with a 2nd tone. In speech it sounds like yìjúliǎngdé. When two third tones meet, the first one rises into a second tone. You still write it with two third tones. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 一举两得 is written 一舉兩得. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yijuliangde with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 一举两得 from the suggestions. Typing yijuliangde into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
一举两得 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.