学华语Learn Chinese with BaoOpen the course

游刃有余

yóu rèn yǒu yú

to handle with ease

Character by character

游yóu
move
刃rèn
blade
有yǒu
have
余yú
room

Example

这么复杂的工作,她处理得游刃有余。
The job is complicated, but she handles it with ease.

Tone: positive (praise).

Usage and origin

From 《庄子》: Cook Ding’s knife slid through the gaps in the ox’s joints with room to spare.

Learn it in context
This idiom and thousands more are in Learn Chinese with Bao, with audio, pinyin and drills that make them stick.
Start the course free →

More idioms