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手到拈来

shǒu dào niān láidictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. to stretch a hand and grab it (idiom) / fig. easy to do
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-8072984705f61c23. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

手到拈來 手到拈来 [shou3 dao4 nian1 lai2] /lit. to stretch a hand and grab it (idiom)/fig. easy to do/

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: 手到拈來

  • 手
    shǒu

    hand / (formal) to hold / person engaged in certain types of work / person skilled in certain types of work / personal(ly) / convenient / classifier for skill / CL:雙|双[shuāng],隻|只[zhī]

  • 到
    dào

    to reach / to arrive / to leave for / to go to / to (a place) / until (a time) / up to (a point) / (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point) / considerate / thoughtful / thorough

  • 拈
    niān

    to nip / to grasp with the fingers / to fiddle with / Taiwan pr. [nián]

  • 来
    lái

    to come / (used as a substitute for a more specific verb) / hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[huí lai]) / ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zì gǔ yǐ lái]) / for the past (amount of time) / (prefix) the coming ... / the next ... (as in 來世|来世[lái shì]) / (between two verbs) in order to / (after a round number) approximately / (used after 得[dé] to indicate possibility, as in 談得來|谈得来[tán de lái], or after 不[bù] to indicate impossibility, as in 吃不來|吃不来[chī bu lái])

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.