万丈深渊 (wàn zhàng shēn yuān) — (literally) an abyss of ten thousand zhang (extremely deep); (figuratively) a dangerous or hopeless predicament

Definition

A chengyu describing an extremely deep abyss — used literally for vast drops, and figuratively for a hopeless, inescapable predicament.

idiom
(literally) an abyss of ten thousand zhang (extremely deep)(figuratively) a dangerous or hopeless predicament

Examples

  • ，万丈深渊，。
    Chuàng yè shī bài hòu, tā gǎn jué zì jǐ diē rù le wàn zhàng shēn yuān, kàn bú dào rèn hé xī wàng.
    After his startup failed, he felt he had fallen into a bottomless abyss with no hope in sight.
  • ，万丈深渊，。
    Zhè ge xuán yá gāo dá qiān mǐ, xià miàn shì wàn zhàng shēn yuān, lìng rén wàng ér shēng wèi.
    This cliff is a thousand meters high, with a bottomless abyss below that inspires awe and fear.
  • ，万丈深渊，。
    Rú guǒ bù jí shí jiū zhèng cuò wù, gōng sī kě néng huì xiàn rù wàn zhàng shēn yuān, wú fǎ fān shēn.
    If the mistakes are not corrected in time, the company could fall into a hopeless abyss from which it cannot recover.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

万丈ten thousand zhang
万wànten thousand丈zhàngzhang
偏正Modifier + head
深渊deep abyss
深shēndeep渊yuānabyss
偏正Modifier + head

万丈 gives ten thousand zhang and 深渊 gives deep pit, together forming a bottomless abyss.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 萬; 万 is its simplified writing.

For 万, the form 萬 was originally a picture of a scorpion, later borrowed for its sound to write 'ten thousand'; the scorpion picture is unrelated to that number.

Open 万 →

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

丈 is made from 十 (ten) and 又 (hand), and it is explained as a length of ten chi.

Open 丈 →

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
𥥍
𥥍𥥍深shēn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

深 is built from 氵, the side form of 水 “water”, and 𥥍, which supplies the sound.

Open 深 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 淵; 渊 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 淵 began as a picture of a basin with water, and later forms added vertical strokes like riverbanks around it.

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