How do you pronounce 昙花一现?

昙花一现 is pronounced as "tán huā yī xiàn" in Mandarin Chinese.

昙花一现

Q: What does 昙花一现 mean?

昙花一现 (tán huā yī xiàn) literally means "Night flower appears once" and metaphorically means "Brief, fleeting appearance". It belongs to the Life Philosophy category of Chinese idioms.

Q: When is 昙花一现 used?

昙花一现 is used when The young artist gained brief fame before disappearing from public view.

昙花一现 (tán huā yī xiàn) literally means “night flower appears once” and expresses “brief, fleeting appearance”. This idiom is used when describing situations involving life philosophy.

Also searched as: tan hua yi xian, tan hua yi xian,昙花一现 meaning, 昙花一现 in english

Brief, fleeting appearance

Pronunciation: tán huā yī xiàn Literal meaning: Night flower appears once

Origin & Usage

The 昙花 is the night-blooming cereus, which opens after dark, holds for a few hours and is finished by morning. Buddhist writing had already used a flower appearing once (一现) as the figure for something that arrives so rarely that most people live and die without seeing it. Chinese kept the brevity and dropped the rarity. It now describes a success, a talent or a fashion that was genuinely striking and did not last, and it is said with more regret than scorn.

Examples

English: "The young artist gained brief fame before disappearing from public view"

Chinese: 这位年轻艺术家获得短暂的名声后就从公众视野中消失了

Related Chinese Idioms

Similar idioms about life philosophy

望洋兴叹

wàng yáng xīng tàn

Feel overwhelmed by greatness

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功亏一篑

gōng kuī yī kuì

Fail due to giving up near the end

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一石二鸟

yī shí èr niǎo

Two goals with one action

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一言九鼎

yī yán jiǔ dǐng

Words carry great weight

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一丝不苟

yī sī bù gǒu

Extremely careful and thorough

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一叶障目

yī yè zhàng mù

Miss big picture

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一鼓作气

yī gǔ zuò qì

Complete in one effort

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一叶知秋

yī yè zhī qiū

Small signs show big picture

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does 昙花一现 mean in English?

昙花一现 (tán huā yī xiàn) literally translates to “Night flower appears once” and is used to express “Brief, fleeting appearance”. This Chinese idiom belongs to the Life Philosophy category.