拨云见日 (bō yún jiàn rì) — (idiom) to clear away clouds and see the sun — metaphor for removing obstacles to reveal truth or hope; (idiom) to restore justice after a period of darkness or confusion

Definition

A literary idiom meaning clouds part and the sun appears — used for a sudden breakthrough that reveals truth, clears up a mystery, or restores justice after confusion.

idiom
to clear away clouds and see the sun — metaphor for removing obstacles to reveal truth or hopeto restore justice after a period of darkness or confusion

Examples

  • ，拨云见日，。
    Jīng guò duō nián de diào chá, zhēn xiàng zhōng yú bō yún jiàn rì, yuān àn dé yǐ zhāo xuě.
    After years of investigation, the truth finally emerged like the sun breaking through clouds, and the wrongful conviction was overturned.
  • ，拨云见日，。
    Tā zhǐ yào jiān chí nǔ lì, xiāng xìn zhōng yǒu yì tiān huì bō yún jiàn rì, yíng lái guāng míng de wèi lái.
    As long as he keeps working hard, he believes that one day the clouds will part and he will welcome a bright future.
  • 拨云见日，。
    Zhè piān bào dào yóu rú bō yún jiàn rì, ràng gōng zhòng kàn dào le shì jiàn bèi hòu de zhēn xiàng.
    This news report was like parting clouds to see the sun, allowing the public to see the truth behind the incident.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 撥; 拨 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
發
發fā撥bō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 撥 combines 手 (hand) with 發, which gives the sound; the simplified 拨 is a different form.

Open 拨 →

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 見; 见 is its simplified writing.

  • 目目mùeye
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The traditional form 見 pairs 目 (eye) with 卩 (kneeling person), showing a kneeling figure with a large eye for a head. The simplified 见 is a later shorthand.

Open 见 →

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

日 originally drew the sun. A mark was added inside to tell it apart from similar square shapes.

Open 日 →

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