Learn Chinese with @cn-reader: 事半功倍

Idiom: 事半功倍 [shì bàn gōng bèi]

Literally it means yield twice the result with half the effort.

Here is a story that might help you understand it.

Eric is working in HR function for a company. Once he was assigned a task of making PowerPoint on the analysis of turnout rate of the company. This is the first time he is asked to do this analysis. He could not find any clue to start. He plans to design every thing from scratch, including all the diagrams and data sheets, which may well cost too much time, delaying his schedule.

Then he tries googling the similar PPT templates online, through which he found a lot of ideas and templates matching this task. Based on the actual data he collects internally, with the help of all the templates he sources, he completes the analysis within 2 days, way ahead of the deadline.

And the analysis is really accurate and professional. Because of this, he also receives compliments from his superior.
“Your job is impressive. It is so fast and this analysis is better than any other one I have received since I joined the company.” Eric also got extra bonus at year end.

This idiom usually describes the situations that one can achieve more with less effort, normally with effective methods or tools, etc. Not shortcuts, though.

Author: @Veronicazhu