信手拈来

Pronunciation: xìn shǒu niān lái Literal meaning: Casually pluck it up

Origin & Usage

Reaching out casually (信手) and plucking up (拈来) exactly the right thing, without hunting for it. The phrase itself is Chan Buddhist — a monk's verse in the Jingde Records has 信手拈来草, taking up whatever grass comes to hand — and Song and Jin critics borrowed it for Su Shi, whose allusions seemed never to have been fetched. The line most often quoted, 信手拈来世已惊, is Wang Ruoxu's, preserved in the anthology Yuan Haowen compiled. The ease is the visible part of long accumulation, not a substitute for it. Somebody who produces the apt reference or the right move with no visible search has earned it.

Examples

English: "The master poet composed beautiful verses effortlessly during the gathering"

Chinese: 这位诗坛大师在聚会上毫不费力地创作出优美的诗句