📖 Meaning
To achieve two goals with a single action. It describes a situation where one effort produces two beneficial results, similar to the English expression 'kill two birds with one stone.'
📜 Origin Story
This idiom traces back to the writings of the Jin dynasty scholar Ge Hong (葛洪) in his work Baopuzi (抱朴子). It is also associated with earlier Han dynasty texts discussing strategic efficiency. The core idea—that a wise person maximizes outcomes by identifying actions that serve multiple purposes simultaneously—was a recurring theme in classical Chinese military and philosophical literature.
💡 Example Usage
每天骑自行车上班，既能锻炼身体，又能节省交通费，真是一举两得。
Cycling to work every day lets you exercise and save on transport costs at the same time—it's really killing two birds with one stone.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 一举两得
- Pinyin: yī jǔ liǎng dé
- Literal Translation: one, act, two, obtain
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4