Chinese Idiom

一举两得🔊

Yī Jǔ Liǎng Dé
📚 Idioms⏱ 3 min read🎧 Audio

This idiom means achieving two things with one action.

The Story 🔊

Chūnqiū shíqī Jìnguó xiǎng gōngdǎ Guóguó
春秋Chūnqiū🔊时期shíqī🔊晋国Jìnguó🔊xiǎng🔊攻打gōngdǎ🔊虢国Guóguó🔊
Qù Guóguó bìxū jīngguò Yúguó
🔊虢国Guóguó🔊必须bìxū🔊经过jīngguò🔊虞国Yúguó🔊
Jìnguó yòng bǎomǎ hé měiyù huìlù Yúguó jièdào gōngdǎ Guóguó
晋国Jìnguó🔊yòng🔊宝马bǎomǎ🔊🔊美玉měiyù🔊贿赂huìlù🔊虞国Yúguó🔊借道jièdào🔊攻打gōngdǎ🔊虢国Guóguó🔊
Mièdiào Guóguó hòu Jìn jūn huíshī túzhōng yòu mièdiào le Yúguó
灭掉Mièdiào🔊虢国Guóguó🔊hòu🔊晋军Jìn jūn🔊回师huíshī🔊途中túzhōng🔊yòu🔊灭掉了mièdiào le🔊虞国Yúguó🔊
Zhè jiùshì yī jǔ liǎng dé
Zhè🔊就是jiùshì🔊一举两得yī jǔ liǎng dé🔊
English Translation:
During the Spring and Autumn period, Jin wanted to attack Guo. To reach Guo, they had to pass through Yu. Jin used fine horses and beautiful jade to bribe Yu, borrowing a route to attack Guo. After destroying Guo, on their return march, Jin also destroyed Yu. This is achieving two things with one action.

Key Vocabulary

一举两得
yī jǔ liǎng dé
achieve two things at once
借道
jièdào
borrow a route
贿赂
huìlù
bribe
灭掉
mièdiào
destroy
回师
huíshī
return march
美玉
měiyù
beautiful jade

The Moral

Smart planning yields double results! This idiom means accomplishing two goals with one action.

Cultural Insight

一举两得 comes from the story of Jin destroying Guo and Yu, in "Zuo Zhuan" (左传).