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liánhéSide by side

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

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