Chinese Idiom

柳暗花明🔊

Liǔ Àn Huā Míng
📚 Idioms⏱ 3 min read🎧 Audio

This idiom means finding a way out when things seem hopeless.

The Story 🔊

Sòngcháo shīrén Lù Yóu zài shānjiān sànbù
宋朝Sòngcháo🔊诗人shīrén🔊陆游Lù Yóu🔊zài🔊山间shānjiān🔊散步sànbù🔊
Tā zǒu zài shānlù shàng yǐwéi qiánmiàn méiyǒu lù le
🔊走在zǒu zài🔊山路上shānlù shàng🔊以为yǐwéi🔊前面qiánmiàn🔊没有路了méiyǒu lù le🔊
Kěshì zhuǎnguò yí gè wān hūrán kàndào liǔshù chéngyīn xiānhuā shèngkāi
可是Kěshì🔊转过zhuǎnguò🔊一个弯yí gè wān🔊忽然hūrán🔊看到kàndào🔊柳树liǔshù🔊成荫chéngyīn🔊鲜花xiānhuā🔊盛开shèngkāi🔊
Tā xiě xià le míngjù shān chóng shuǐ fù yí wú lù liǔ àn huā míng yòu yì cūn
🔊写下了xiě xià le🔊名句míngjù🔊山重水复疑无路shān chóng shuǐ fù yí wú lù🔊柳暗花明又一村liǔ àn huā míng yòu yì cūn🔊
English Translation:
The Song Dynasty poet Lu You was walking in the mountains. He walked on the mountain path, thinking there was no road ahead. But turning a corner, he suddenly saw willow trees providing shade and flowers in full bloom. He wrote the famous line: "Mountains repeat, waters wind, I doubt there is a road; dark willows, bright flowers, another village appears."

Key Vocabulary

柳暗花明
liǔ àn huā míng
dark willows and bright flowers
柳树
liǔshù
willow tree
盛开
shèngkāi
in full bloom
转弯
zhuǎn wān
turn a corner
名句
míngjù
famous line
忽然
hūrán
suddenly

The Moral

Hope appears when you least expect it! This idiom means finding a new way out when things seem desperate.

Cultural Insight

柳暗花明 comes from Lu You's poem "Visiting a Village West of the Mountain" (游山西村).