Kilo Lingo

(róng yì) - easy, simple; easily in Mandarin

róng

Traditional: 容易

Line drawing of 容易
Coloured illustration of 容易
HSK 2
#551 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

easy, simple; easily

Word origin

容易 (róng yì) pairs 容 (róng), 'to contain' or 'to allow', built under the roof radical 宀, with 易 (yì), 'easy' or 'to change'. The character 易 is often read as a pictograph of a lizard or of a vessel pouring. Together they mean 'easy' or 'easily'.

Origin
compound
Root
容 (róng, allow) + 易 (yì, easy)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 容

Stroke order for 易

Examples

This problem is not easy.

He gets angry easily.

This question is not very easy.

He gets nervous easily.

容易 (róng yì) means easy or easily. 容 relates to capacity or tolerance and 易 means easy or to change. Together they form a common adjective meaning easy (容易的题, an easy question) or the adverb easily before a verb (容易生气, easily angered). Its antonym is 困难 (kùn nán, difficult) or the more colloquial 难 (nán, hard). The negative 不容易 (not easy) is a common expression of admiration or recognition that something took effort.

Used in

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This word is part of lesson 12.