快刀斬亂麻

Chinese

		sharp knife	behead; chop	tangled skein; tremendous muddle; jumble
trad. (快刀斬亂麻)		快刀	斬	亂麻
simp. (快刀斩乱麻)		快刀	斩	乱麻

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): kuàidāo zhǎn luànmá

(Zhuyin): ㄎㄨㄞˋ ㄉㄠㄓㄢˇ ㄌㄨㄢˋ ㄇㄚˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): faai³ dou¹ zaam² lyun⁶ maa⁴
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): khoài-to chám loān-môa

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: kuàidāo zhǎn luànmá
  - Zhuyin: ㄎㄨㄞˋ ㄉㄠㄓㄢˇ ㄌㄨㄢˋ ㄇㄚˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: kuàidao jhǎn luànmá
  - Wade–Giles: kʻuai⁴-tao¹ chan³ luan⁴-ma²
  - Yale: kwài-dāu jǎn lwàn-má
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: kuaydau jaan luannma
  - Palladius: куайдао чжань луаньма (kuajdao čžanʹ luanʹma)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰu̯aɪ̯⁵¹ tɑʊ̯⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂän²¹⁴⁻²¹ lu̯än⁵¹ mä³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: faai³ dou¹ zaam² lyun⁶ maa⁴
  - Yale: faai dōu jáam lyuhn màh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: faai³ dou¹ dzaam² lyn⁶ maa⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: fai³ dou¹ zam² lün⁶ ma⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /faːi̯³³ tou̯⁵⁵ t͡saːm³⁵ lyːn²² maː²¹/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khoài-to chám loān-môa
  - Tâi-lô: khuài-to tsám luān-muâ
  - Phofsit Daibuun: qoae'doy zarm loaxnmoaa
  - IPA (Xiamen): /kʰuai²¹⁻⁵³ to⁴⁴ t͡sam⁵³⁻⁴⁴ luan²²⁻²¹ muã²⁴/

Idiom

快刀斬亂麻

(figurative) to cut the Gordian knot; to solve a complex problem using a decisive and effective method

Synonyms

快刀斬麻／快刀斩麻
快刀斷亂麻／快刀断乱麻
快刀斬亂絲／快刀斩乱丝

Descendants

→ Japanese: 快(かい)刀乱(とうらん)麻(ま)を断(た)つ (kaitō ranma o tatsu) (calque)

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