天有不测风云 (tiān yǒu bù cè fēng yún) — (set phrase) an unexpected disaster; sudden misfortune

Definition

A chengyu meaning life holds sudden, unforeseeable disasters — 'storms may strike from a clear sky.' Often used to warn that the future is uncertain.

idiom
(set phrase) an unexpected disastersudden misfortune

Examples

  • 天有不测风云，，。
    Zhēn shì tiān yǒu bù cè fēng yún, tā zuó tiān hái hǎo hǎo de, jīn tiān jiù zhù yuàn le.
    It's really true that misfortune is unpredictable; he was fine yesterday and today he was hospitalized.
  • 天有不测风云，。
    tiān yǒu bù cè fēng yún, Shuí yě xiǎng bú dào yì chǎng dà yǔ huì bǎ qiáo chōng kuǎ.
    Disasters are unpredictable; nobody could have imagined that a heavy rain would wash away the bridge.
  • ，天有不测风云。
    Wǒ men yào yǒu xīn lǐ zhǔn bèi, tiān yǒu bù cè fēng yún.
    We need to be mentally prepared, because disasters are unpredictable.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 測; 测 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
則
則zé測cè
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 測 combines 氵 (water) with 則 for the sound; it is explained as measuring the depth of water. The simplified 测 is a later shorthand.

Open 测 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 风 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 雲; 云 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 雲 is 雨 (rain) plus 云; 云 was the original writing for 'cloud', and 雨 was added to separate it from the borrowed sense 'to say'.

Open 云 →

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