TongTong
Sign in

风平浪静 (fēng píng làng jìng) — calm and tranquil (of weather, sea, or a situation)

Definition

Idiom for 'calm and peaceful' — literally 'wind flat, waves still', used for both literal sea/weather and figurative situations (negotiations, life). Poetic and literary in tone.

idiom
calm and tranquil (of weather, sea, or a situation)

Examples

  • 风平浪静，。
    Jīn tiān hǎi shàng fēng píng làng jìng, hěn shì hé chū hǎi.
    The sea is calm today, perfect for going out to sea.
  • ，风平浪静。
    Jīng guò tán pàn, jú miàn zhōng yú fēng píng làng jìng le.
    After negotiations, the situation finally became calm.
  • 风平浪静。
    Wǒ xī wàng shēng huó yǒng yuǎn fēng píng làng jìng.
    I hope life is forever calm and peaceful.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

风平wind calm
风fēngwind平píngcalm
主谓Subject + predicate
浪静waves quiet
浪làngwaves静jìngquiet
主谓Subject + predicate

The 风平 wind calm and 浪静 waves quiet meanings combine to picture a still sea.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 风 →

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

The origin is uncertain. One explanation combines 八 (division) and 亏 (exhaled air) to show smooth speech.

Open 平 →

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
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
良
良liáng浪làng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

浪 pairs 水 (water) with 良, which supplies the sound. The water part points to its meaning of waves.

Open 浪 →

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 靜; 静 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 靜, not the simplified 静, uses 青 and 爭 for sound; an old source also treats 青 (blue) as a meaning part.

Open 静 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesWeather

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