胆大包天 (dǎn dà bāo tiān) — extremely audacious; daring beyond measure

Definition

Strong chengyu meaning 'shockingly audacious' — used for deeds so bold they seem reckless. Always negative: describes nerve without judgment, not bravery.

idiom
extremely audaciousdaring beyond measure

Examples

  • ，胆大包天。
    Tā jū rán gǎn tōu jǐng chá de dōng xī, zhēn shì dǎn dà bāo tiān.
    He actually dared to steal from a police officer — that's truly audacious.
  • 胆大包天，。
    Nà ge dǎn dà bāo tiān de jì huà, ràng suǒ yǒu rén dōu xià le yí tiào.
    That audacious plan startled everyone.
  • 胆大包天。
    Tā dǎn dà bāo tiān dì yí gè rén qù pān dēng zhū mù lǎng mǎ fēng.
    He audaciously went to climb Mount Everest alone.

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
⺼Written in full as肉ròubody part
Sound part声符shēngfú
旦
旦dàn胆dǎn
Same sound today

胆 combines ⺼, written as 肉 when full, for a body part, with 旦 as a sound part.

Open 胆 →

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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

The shape of 包 pictures a fetus in a womb, or a baby wrapped in cloth.

Open 包 →

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 →

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