事半功倍

Pronunciation: shì bàn gōng bèi Literal meaning: Half effort double result

Origin & Usage

This one comes from the Mencius, which argues that acting at the right moment takes half (半) the effort (事) of the ancients and produces double (倍) the result (功). Mencius's point is about timing, not technique: the same work done when conditions are ready yields disproportionately more. An approach that gets more out of less earns it, though the original point — which credited the moment rather than the method — usually falls away.

Examples

English: "Using the new software doubled her productivity"

Chinese: 使用新软件使她的工作效率提高了一倍