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天马行空 (tiān mǎ xíng kōng) — (idiom) powerful and unconstrained style; bold and imaginative (of writing, art, thinking)

Definition

Idiom praising a writing or artistic style as bold and free-flowing imagination, unbound by convention. Often carries a positive, admiring tone.

idiom
powerful and unconstrained stylebold and imaginative (of writing, art, thinking)

Examples

  • 天马行空，。
    Tā de shī gē tiān mǎ xíng kōng, chōng mǎn le dà dǎn de xiǎng xiàng.
    His poetry is bold and unrestrained, full of daring imagination.
  • 天马行空，。
    Zhè wèi dǎo yǎn de diàn yǐng fēng gé tiān mǎ xíng kōng, dǎ pò le chuán tǒng xù shì.
    This director's film style is wildly imaginative, breaking away from traditional narrative.
  • ，天马行空。
    Miàn duì zhè ge fù zá de wèn tí, wǒ men xū yào tiān mǎ xíng kōng dì sī kǎo.
    Faced with this complex problem, we need to think freely and unconventionally.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

天马heavenly horse
天tiānheavenly马mǎhorse
偏正Modifier + head
行空walk in sky
行xíngwalk空kōngsky
动宾Verb + object

天马 (heavenly horse) 行空 (walk in sky) paints a bold, unconstrained image.

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

Open 马 →

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

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →

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
穴穴xuécave, hole
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng空kōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

空 is built from 穴, a cave or hole, and 工, which gives the sound.

Open 空 →
Appears in
Art & Fine ArtsIdioms & Set Phrases

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