晴天霹雳 (qíng tiān pī lì) — (idiom) a bolt from the blue; a sudden, shocking turn of events (usually negative)

Definition

A chengyu meaning a sudden, shocking piece of bad news — literally 'thunderclap from a clear sky'. Used for unexpected misfortune, not neutral surprises.

idiom
a bolt from the bluea suddenshocking turn of events (usually negative)

Examples

  • 晴天霹雳。
    Zhè ge xiāo xi duì tā lái shuō zhēn shì qíng tiān pī lì.
    This news was really a bolt from the blue for him.
  • 晴天霹雳。
    Gōng sī dǎo bì de xiāo xi xiàng qíng tiān pī lì yí yàng ràng dà jiā wú fǎ jiē shòu.
    The news of the company's bankruptcy hit everyone like a bolt from the blue — they couldn't accept it.
  • ，晴天霹雳。
    Tā tū rán tí chū lí hūn, duì zhàng fu lái shuō wú yì yú qíng tiān pī lì.
    Her sudden request for divorce was no less than a bolt from the blue to her husband.

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.

晴天clear sky
晴qíngclear天tiānsky
偏正Modifier + head
霹雳thunderbolt
霹pī雳lì

晴 and 天 make a clear sky; 霹雳 as a whole suggests a thunderbolt.

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
日日rìsun
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng晴qíng
Same sound today

晴 puts 日, the sun, beside 青, which gives its sound.

Open 晴 →

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
雨雨yǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
辟
辟pì霹
Same sound today

霹 has 雨 above 辟. Here, 辟 gives the sound, and 雨 shows the general area of meaning.

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 靂; 雳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
雨雨yǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
歷
歷lì靂
Same sound today

The traditional form 靂 has 雨 (rain) and 歷, which gave the sound. The simplified 雳 is a shorthand, so its right side is not the old sound part.

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