豁然开朗 — “Suddenly open and bright”
豁然开朗 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to suddenly achieve a clear and profound understanding of something, often after a period of confusion or difficulty; to have a sudden realization or epiphany. It can also literally describe a scene suddenly becoming spacious and bright”. Literally, “suddenly open and bright”.
豁然开朗 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 豁huò
- 然rán
- 开kāi
- 朗lǎng
豁然开朗 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 豁然开朗
Origin and Story of 豁然开朗
During the Jin Dynasty, Tao Yuanming, disillusioned by the political intrigues and corruption in officialdom, resolutely chose to resign from his post rather than compromise his integrity for a meager salary. He then retreated to a life of reclusion.
In his famous work "The Peach Blossom Spring," he envisioned a utopian world, free from social hierarchy and exploitation, describing it thus: "The mountain had a small opening, as if there was light within. He then abandoned his boat and entered the opening. At first, it was extremely narrow, just wide enough for a person to pass through. After walking a few dozen steps further, it suddenly opened up into a wide and bright expanse (豁然开朗)."
This phrase later came to metaphorically describe a sudden enlightenment or realization.
Idioms Related to 豁然开朗
Synonyms of 豁然开朗
Antonyms of 豁然开朗
More idioms starting with 豁
- huò豁rén人ěr耳mù目broaden horizons and refresh mind
- huō豁kǒu口jié截shé舌force into complete silence
- huò豁rán然dà大wù悟suddenly see the light
- huò豁rán然kāi开wù悟suddenly enlightened
- huò豁rán然xǐng省wù悟suddenly see the light
- huò豁rán然què确sī斯suddenly achieve complete understanding
- huò豁rán然wù雾jiě解sudden understanding, like fog clearing
- huò豁rán然dùn顿wù悟suddenly achieve complete understanding
- huō豁mù目kāi开jīn襟broaden horizons and open mind
- huò豁dá达xiān先sheng生broad-minded and clear-headed person
- huò豁dá达dà大dù度broad-minded and magnanimous
Questions about 豁然开朗
- What does 豁然开朗 mean?
- 豁然开朗 (huò rán kāi lǎng) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to suddenly achieve a clear and profound understanding of something, often after a period of confusion or difficulty; to have a sudden realization or epiphany. It can also literally describe a scene suddenly becoming spacious and bright”.
- How do you pronounce 豁然开朗?
- 豁然开朗 is pronounced huò rán kāi lǎng in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 豁然开朗 literally mean?
- Literally, 豁然开朗 means “suddenly open and bright”. It is used to mean “to suddenly achieve a clear and profound understanding of something, often after a period of confusion or difficulty; to have a sudden realization or epiphany. It can also literally describe a scene suddenly becoming spacious and bright”.
- Where does 豁然开朗 come from?
- 豁然开朗 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 豁然开朗?
- 豁然：形容开阔；开朗：开阔明亮。从黑暗狭窄变得宽敞明亮。比喻突然领悟了一个道理。