事半功倍
shì bàn gōng bèi
half the work, twice the result
Character by character
事shì
work
work
半bàn
half
half
功gōng
result
result
倍bèi
double
double
Example
方法对了，就能事半功倍。
With the right method, you get twice the result for half the work.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
From Mencius (公孙丑上): with half the effort of the ancients, one could double their results.
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