| 二一添作五 |
èr yī tiān zuò wǔ |
lit. one half equals zero point five (division rule in abacus reckoning) / to share fairly between two parties / to go fifty-fifty |
| 二 |
èr |
two / 2 / (Beijing dialect) stupid |
| 一 |
yī |
one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire; whole; all; throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit |
| 添 |
tiān |
to add; to increase; to replenish |
| 作 |
zuō |
(bound form) worker / (bound form) workshop / (slang) troublesome; high-maintenance (person) |
| 作 |
zuò |
to do; to engage in / to write; to compose / to pretend; to feign / to regard as; to consider to be / to be; to act the part of / to feel (itchy, nauseous etc) / writings; works |
| 五 |
wǔ |
five / 5 |