谈何容易 tán hé róng yì easier said than done

Explanation

这个成语原指臣下向君主进言很不容易，后来引申为事情做起来并不像说的那样简单。它体现了一种现实的无奈和对事情难度的一种客观评价。

This idiom originally meant that it was not easy for ministers to advise the monarch. Later, it was extended to mean that things are not as easy as they sound. It reflects a realistic helplessness and an objective evaluation of the difficulty of things.

Origin Story

西汉时期，有个名叫东方朔的官员，他向汉武帝提出了许多建议，但大多不被采纳。有一次，他再次向汉武帝进言，希望汉武帝能够重视农业生产，增强国防力量。汉武帝听后只是淡淡一笑，说：“这谈何容易啊！”东方朔知道汉武帝并没有真正听进去，心中感到十分无奈。于是，他写了一篇文章《非有先生论》，讲述了一个虚构的故事：一个名叫非有先生的官员在吴国做官多年，却从未发表过政见，直到吴王去世后，他才说出自己的想法。故事说明，臣子向君王进言的难度之大，令人难以想象。

xī hàn shí qī，yǒu gè míng jiào dōng fāng shuò de guān yuán，tā xiàng hàn wǔ dì tí chū le xǔ duō jiàn yì，dàn dà duō bù bèi cǎi nà。yǒu yī cì，tā zài cì xiàng hàn wǔ dì jìn yán，xī wàng hàn wǔ dì néng gòu zhòng shì nóng yè shēng chǎn，zēng qiáng guó fáng lì liàng。hàn wǔ dì tīng hòu zhǐ shì dàn dàn yī xiào，shuō：“zhè tán hé róng yì a！”dōng fāng shuò zhī dào hàn wǔ dì bìng méi yǒu zhēn zhèng tīng jìn qù，xīn zhōng gǎn dào shí fēn wú nài。yú shì，tā xiě le yī piān wén zhāng《fēi yǒu xiān shēng lùn》，jiǎng shù le yīgè xū gòu de gù shì：yīgè míng jiào fēi yǒu xiān shēng de guān yuán zài wú guó zuò guān duō nián，què cóng wèi fā biǎo guò zhèng jiàn，zhì dào wú wáng qù shì hòu，tái shuō chū zì jǐ de xiǎng fǎ。gù shì shuō míng，chén zǐ xiàng jūn wáng jìn yán de nán dù zhī dà，lìng rén nán yǐ xiǎng xiàng。

During the Western Han Dynasty, there was an official named Dongfang Shuo who made many suggestions to Emperor Han Wudi, but most of them were not adopted. Once, he again advised Emperor Han Wudi, hoping that he would pay attention to agricultural production and strengthen national defense. After listening, Emperor Han Wudi simply smiled faintly and said, "That's easier said than done!" Dongfang Shuo knew that Emperor Han Wudi had not really listened, and felt very helpless. So he wrote an article called "The Treatise of Mr. Feiyou", telling a fictional story: an official named Mr. Feiyou served as an official in Wu for many years, but never expressed his views, until after the death of the King of Wu, did he speak out his thoughts. The story illustrates how incredibly difficult it is to make suggestions to the emperor.

Usage

常用来形容事情的难度超过预期，或者事情的实现比想象的要困难得多。

tán hé róng yì

Often used to describe the difficulty of things exceeding expectations, or things are much more difficult to achieve than imagined.

Examples

• 想要在短时间内完成这个项目，谈何容易！

  tán hé róng yì

  It's easier said than done to complete this project in a short time!

• 他轻描淡写地说这件事很容易，但实际上谈何容易？

  tán hé róng yì

  He described the matter as easy, but in reality, it is far from simple!

Related Idioms

• 难上加难

• 事半功倍

Opposite Idioms

• 轻而易举

• 一蹴而就