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化险为夷 (huà xiǎn wéi yí) — to turn danger into safety (idiom); to avert disaster

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'to turn danger into safety' — emphasizes escaping a perilous situation through skill or effort. Used in writing or formal speech, not daily conversation.

phrase
to turn danger into safety (idiom)to avert disaster

Examples

  • ，化险为夷。
    Tā jí zhōng shēng zhì, zhōng yú huà xiǎn wéi yí.
    He had a quick wit and finally turned danger into safety.
  • ，化险为夷。
    Zài dà jiā de nǔ lì xià, gōng chǎng de wēi jī huà xiǎn wéi yí le.
    With everyone's efforts, the factory's crisis was averted.
  • 化险为夷，。
    Zhè wèi jiāng jūn yòng jì móu huà xiǎn wéi yí, yíng dé le shèng lì.
    The general used strategy to turn danger into safety and won the victory.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

化 shows two person figures, one upright and one upside down, to give the idea of reversal or change.

Open 化 →

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 險; 险 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
僉
僉qiān險
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 險 pairs 阝, written in full as 阜, with 僉, which gives the sound; the simplified 险 is a shorthand.

Open 险 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 為; 为 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 為 showed a hand holding an elephant; the simplified 为 is a later shorthand.

Open 为 →

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

The original form showed 矢 (arrow) with 弓 (rope), and meant shooting arrows. Later forms showed 大 (person) with 弓 (bow).

Open 夷 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set PhrasesSafety & Danger

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.