沉鱼落雁
沉鱼落雁 (chén yú luò yàn) literally means “sink fish fall geese” and expresses “beauty so stunning it affects natural world”. This idiom is used when describing situations involving wisdom and learning.
Also searched as: chen yu luo yan, chen yu luo yan,沉鱼落雁 meaning, 沉鱼落雁 in english
Beauty so stunning it affects natural world
Pronunciation: chén yú luò yàn Literal meaning: Sink fish fall geese
Origin & Usage
The Zhuangzi is the source, and it means the opposite of what the phrase now does: Mao Qiang and Lady Li are what people call beautiful, but fish seeing them dive (沉鱼) deep and birds seeing them fly high — so who, it asks, knows what beauty actually is? The animals are fleeing. Later tradition reassigned the images to two of the Four Beauties, 沉鱼 to Xi Shi at her washing and 落雁 (落雁) to Wang Zhaojun riding out to the frontier, and turned a question about relative standards into a compliment. It now describes beauty of the highest order.
Examples
English: "The legendary beauty attracted admiring glances wherever she appeared"
Chinese: 这位传奇美人无论在哪里出现都吸引仰慕的目光
Related Chinese Idioms
Similar idioms about wisdom & learning
如鱼得水
rú yú dé shuǐ
In perfect element
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鱼目混珠
yú mù hùn zhū
Passing fakes as genuine
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缘木求鱼
yuán mù qiú yú
Using completely wrong method for a task
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破釜沉舟
pò fǔ chén zhōu
Commit with no retreat
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入乡随俗
rù xiāng suí sú
Adopt the customs of where you are
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柳暗花明
liǔ àn huā míng
Hope appears in darkness
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鬼斧神工
guǐ fǔ shén gōng
Supernatural craftsmanship
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明镜止水
míng jìng zhǐ shuǐ
Clear and calm mind
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does 沉鱼落雁 mean in English?
沉鱼落雁 (chén yú luò yàn) literally translates to “Sink fish fall geese” and is used to express “Beauty so stunning it affects natural world”. This Chinese idiom belongs to the Wisdom & Learning category.
When is 沉鱼落雁 used?
Situation: The legendary beauty attracted admiring glances wherever she appeared
What is the pinyin for 沉鱼落雁?
The pinyin pronunciation for 沉鱼落雁 is “chén yú luò yàn”.
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