Gae-gwon-yu-ik

開

열 개

卷

책 권

有

있을 유

益

더할 익

Character by character

Meaning

Open a book and there is gain in it.

Origin

Attributed to Emperor Taizong of Song, who read the Taiping Yulan daily.

How it is used

Said to someone agonising over what to read — just open one.

Hanja開卷有益

Simplified开卷有益

Korean reading개권유익

Pinyinkāi juàn yǒu yì

Frequently asked questions

Q. What does Gae-gwon-yu-ik mean?

開卷有益 · Open a book and there is gain in it.

Q. Where does Gae-gwon-yu-ik come from?

Attributed to Emperor Taizong of Song, who read the Taiping Yulan daily.

Q. How is Gae-gwon-yu-ik used?

Said to someone agonising over what to read — just open one.

Idioms in the same group

刮目相對 Gwal-mok-sang-daeRub your eyes and look again — someone’s ability has grown astonishingly.敎學相長 Gyo-hak-sang-jangTeaching and learning grow each other.多多益善 Da-da-ik-seonThe more, the better.聞一知十 Mun-il-ji-sipHear one thing and know ten — exceptional quickness of mind.格物致知 Gyeong-mul-chi-jiInvestigate things to reach knowledge.學而時習 Hak-i-si-seupLearn, and practise it in due time.

The idioms used in Korea mix phrases from the Chinese classics with ones coined in Korea. Where an expression is not used in China, the entry says so.