弹 指 一 挥 间

tán zhǐ yī huī jiāndictionary entry

in a flash (idiom)

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-753c8791a8c12d99. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

彈指一揮間弹指一挥间 [tan2 zhi3 yi1 hui1 jian1] /in a flash (idiom)/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 彈指一揮間

弹
dàn
crossball / bullet / shot / shell / ball
tán
to pluck (a string) / to play (a string instrument) / to spring or leap / to shoot (e.g. with a catapult) / (of cotton) to fluff or tease / to flick / to flip / to accuse / to impeach / elastic (of materials)
指
zhǐ
finger / to point at or to / to indicate or refer to / to depend on / to count on / (of hair) to stand on end
一
yī
one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire / whole / all / throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yāo] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit
挥
huī
to wave / to brandish / to command / to conduct / to scatter / to disperse
间
jiān
between / among / within a definite time or space / room / section of a room or lateral space between two pairs of pillars / classifier for rooms
jiàn
gap / to separate / to thin out (seedlings) / to sow discontent

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.