一石二鳥

See also: 一石二鸟

Chinese

		one; single; a one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.)	rock; stone; 10 pecks	two	bird
trad. (一石二鳥)		一	石	二	鳥
simp. (一石二鸟)		一	石	二	鸟
Literally: “one stone, two birds”.

Etymology

Wasei kango (和製漢語), orthographically borrowed from Japanese 一(いっ)石(せき)二(に)鳥(ちょう) (isseki nichō); itself a calque of English kill two birds with one stone.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): yīshí'èrniǎo

(Zhuyin): ㄧㄕˊ ㄦˋ ㄋㄧㄠˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): jat¹ sek⁶ ji⁶ niu⁵
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): it-se̍k-jī-niáu

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: yīshí'èrniǎo [Phonetic: yìshí'èrniǎo]
  - Zhuyin: ㄧㄕˊ ㄦˋ ㄋㄧㄠˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: yishíh-èrniǎo
  - Wade–Giles: i¹-shih²-êrh⁴-niao³
  - Yale: yī-shŕ-èr-nyǎu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ishyrellneau
  - Palladius: ишиэрняо (išiernjao)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵ ˀɤɻ⁵¹ ni̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: jat¹ sek⁶ ji⁶ niu⁵
  - Yale: yāt sehk yih níuh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: jat⁷ sek⁹ ji⁶ niu⁵
  - Guangdong Romanization: yed¹ ség⁶ yi⁶ niu⁵
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɐt̚⁵ sɛːk̚² jiː²² niːu̯¹³/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: it-se̍k-jī-niáu
  - Tâi-lô: it-si̍k-jī-niáu
  - Phofsit Daibuun: itsegjixniao
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /it̚³²⁻⁴ siɪk̚⁴⁻³² zi³³⁻²¹ niãu⁴¹/

Idiom

一石二鳥

to kill two birds with one stone; to do one task and finish two or more goals

Synonyms

一箭雙鵰／一箭双雕 (yījiànshuāngdiāo)
一舉兩得／一举两得 (yījǔliǎngdé)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
一	石	二	鳥
いつ > いっ Grade: 1	せき Grade: 1	に Grade: 1	ちょう Grade: 2
on'yomi

Etymology

Calque of English kill two birds with one stone.^[1]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) いっせきにちょー [ìssékí níchóó] (Heiban – [0])^[2]
(Tokyo) いっせきにちょー [ìssékí níꜜchòò] (Nakadaka – [5])^[2]
IPA^(key): [isːe̞kʲi ɲ̟it͡ɕo̞ː]

Noun

一(いっ)石(せき)二(に)鳥(ちょう) • (isseki nichō)

kill two birds with one stone, do one task and finish two or more goals (literally, “one stone, two birds”)

Synonyms

一挙両得(いっきょりょうとく) (ikkyo ryōtoku): literally, “one effort, double gain”

Descendants

→ Chinese: 一石二鳥 / 一石二鸟 (yīshí'èrniǎo)
→ Korean: 일석이조(一石二鳥) (ilseogijo)

References

^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (1995), 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN