Chinese Idiom

一箭双雕🔊

Yī Jiàn Shuāng Diāo
📚 Idioms⏱ 3 min read🎧 Audio

This idiom means achieving two goals with one action.

The Story 🔊

Nánběicháo shíqī yǒu gè jiāngjūn jiào Zhǎngsūn Shèng
南北朝Nánběicháo🔊时期shíqī🔊有个yǒu gè🔊将军jiāngjūn🔊jiào🔊长孙晟Zhǎngsūn Shèng🔊
Tā wǔyì gāoqiáng yóuqí shàncháng shèjiàn
🔊武艺wǔyì🔊高强gāoqiáng🔊尤其yóuqí🔊擅长shàncháng🔊射箭shèjiàn🔊
Yì tiān tā kàndào tiān shàng liǎng zhī dàdiāo zài zhēng shí
一天Yì tiān🔊🔊看到kàndào🔊天上tiān shàng🔊两只liǎng zhī🔊大雕dàdiāo🔊zài🔊争食zhēng shí🔊
Tā yí jiàn shè chū liǎng zhī dàdiāo tóngshí bèi shèluò
🔊一箭yí jiàn🔊射出shè chū🔊两只liǎng zhī🔊大雕dàdiāo🔊同时tóngshí🔊bèi🔊射落shèluò🔊
English Translation:
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was a general named Zhangsun Sheng. He was highly skilled in martial arts, especially archery. One day, he saw two large eagles fighting for food in the sky. He shot one arrow, and both eagles were shot down at the same time.

Key Vocabulary

一箭双雕
yī jiàn shuāng diāo
kill two eagles with one arrow
diāo
eagle
武艺
wǔyì
martial arts
射箭
shèjiàn
archery
争食
zhēng shí
fight for food
射落
shèluò
shoot down

The Moral

One action, two results! This idiom means achieving two goals with a single effort.

Cultural Insight

一箭双雕 comes from the story of Zhangsun Sheng in "History of the Sui Dynasty" (隋书).