雨过天晴 (yǔ guò tiān qíng) — (literally) the sky clears up after rain; (figuratively) things return to normal after a crisis; the storm has passed

Definition

Literally 'the rain passes and the sky clears,' it is used figuratively to mean a difficult situation has resolved and things are back to normal.

idiom
(literally) the sky clears up after rain(figuratively) things return to normal after a crisisthe storm has passed

Examples

  • 雨过天晴，。
    yǔ guò tiān qíng, Yí qiè dōu huī fù píng jìng le.
    After the storm, everything returned to calm.
  • ，雨过天晴。
    Gōng sī jīng lì le wēi jī, xiàn zài zhōng yú yǔ guò tiān qíng le.
    The company went through a crisis, and now it has finally cleared up.
  • 雨过天晴。
    Wǒ xiāng xìn yí dìng huì yǔ guò tiān qíng de.
    I believe things will definitely work out in the end.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

雨过rain passes
雨yǔrain过guòpass
主谓Subject + predicate
天晴sky clears
天tiānsky晴qíngclear
主谓Subject + predicate

雨 rain + 过 pass + 天 sky + 晴 clear show rain ending and sky clearing, so normal life returns.

Characters in this word

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

The shape 雨 is an old picture of a cloud with rain drops falling from it; the top line was added later.

Open 雨 →

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 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi過guò
Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 过 →

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
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 →

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