惊天地泣鬼神 (jīng tiān dì qì guǐ shén) — (idiom) to shake heaven and earth; extremely moving, shocking, or awe-inspiring

Definition

A chengyu used as a predicate to praise something as so moving it could shake heaven and move ghosts to tears — hyperbolic, literary, and almost always used of art, deeds, or stories, not people directly.

idiom
to shake heaven and earthextremely movingshockingor awe-inspiring

Examples

  • 惊天地泣鬼神，。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng zhēn shì jīng tiān dì qì guǐ shén, kàn kū le hěn duō rén.
    This movie is truly earth-shattering; it made many people cry.
  • 惊天地泣鬼神，。
    Tā de yīng xióng shì jì jīng tiān dì qì guǐ shén, gǎn dòng le wú shù rén.
    His heroic deeds shook heaven and earth, moving countless people.
  • 惊天地泣鬼神，。
    Zhè ge gù shi de jié jú jīng tiān dì qì guǐ shén, ràng rén jiǔ jiǔ bù néng píng jìng.
    The ending of this story is so shocking that people can't calm down for a long time.

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
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
京
京jīng惊jīng
Same sound today

惊 is made from 忄 (heart) and 京, which gives the sound.

Open 惊 →

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě地dì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
立
立lì泣qì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

泣 pairs 氵 (water) with 立 for the sound. It originally meant tears and later came to mean crying.

Open 泣 →

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

鬼 originally drew a kneeling figure with an ugly face, perhaps a mask; the small lower right dot is a later added tail.

Open 鬼 →

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
示示shìgod; deity
Sound part声符shēngfú
申
申shēn神shén
Same sound today

The older form 申 drew lightning, which the ancients regarded as divine; 神 adds 示 (god/deity) to mark that meaning.

Open 神 →

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