飞檐走壁 (fēi yán zǒu bì) — (idiom) to leap onto roofs and vault over walls with superhuman agility — a hallmark of kung fu masters

Definition

Idiom meaning 'to leap across roofs and walls with superhuman agility', describing the extraordinary movement skills of kung fu or martial arts heroes.

idiom
to leap onto roofs and vault over walls with superhuman agility — a hallmark of kung fu masters

Examples

  • 飞檐走壁。
    Wǔ xiá diàn yǐng lǐ de dà xiá dōu huì fēi yán zǒu bì.
    The heroes in martial arts movies all know how to leap onto roofs and vault over walls.
  • ，飞檐走壁，。
    Tā cóng xiǎo liàn wǔ, xiàn zài néng fēi yán zǒu bì, dòng zuò kuài dé jīng rén.
    He has practiced martial arts since childhood; now he can leap onto roofs and walk on walls with astonishing speed.
  • 飞檐走壁，。
    Zhè ge zéi suī rán bú huì fēi yán zǒu bì, dàn fān qiáng de běn shì yě bù xiǎo.
    Although this thief can't leap onto roofs and vault over walls, his skill at climbing walls is not bad either.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 飛; 飞 is its simplified writing.

For 飞, the traditional form 飛 pictures a bird flying upwards.

Open 飞 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 檐 →

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

The original shape showed a running man, with a foot added later.

Open 走 →

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
辟
辟pì壁bì
Same sound today

壁 combines 土 (earth) and 辟, which gives the sound. The whole means an earthen wall.

Open 壁 →

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