朝不虑夕 — “Cannot plan for the evening in the morning”
朝不虑夕 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to live in a precarious state, not knowing what the immediate future holds; to be in a desperate plight where one cannot even plan for the next day. It describes extreme instability, urgency, or uncertainty of one's survival or situation”. Literally, “Cannot plan for the evening in the morning”.
朝不虑夕 Pronunciation and Pinyin
朝不虑夕 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 朝不虑夕
Origin and Story of 朝不虑夕
After Emperor Wu of Jin unified China, he advocated for filial piety, encouraging people to respect their parents and elders. He wished to appoint Li Mi, a Shangshu Lang (a high-ranking official) from the former state of Shu, as a Langzhong (a court official).
However, Li Mi was reluctant to accept the position. He submitted a memorial to the emperor, known as the "Chen Qing Biao" (Memorial of Plea). In it, Li Mi explained that he and his elderly grandmother were entirely dependent on each other, and his grandmother's life was extremely precarious, described as '朝不保夕' (living from morning to evening with no certainty of survival). He pleaded with the emperor to allow him to care for his grandmother until her passing before he would take up any official post.
Idioms Related to 朝不虑夕
Synonyms of 朝不虑夕
Antonyms of 朝不虑夕
More idioms starting with 朝
- zhāo朝sān三mù暮èr二to be inconsistent or indecisive
- zhāo朝sān三mù暮sì四fickle and inconsistent
- zhāo朝bù不bǎo保xī夕live precariously, not knowing what future holds
- zhāo朝bù不bǎo保mù暮living precariously, unable to guarantee the future
- zhāo朝bù不jí及xī夕precarious situation, uncertain survival
- cháo朝bù不tú图xī夕live from hand to mouth
- cháo朝dōng东mù暮xī西constantly changing one's mind
- cháo朝zhōng中yǒu有rén人hǎo好zuò做guān官Connections make it easy to succeed
- zhāo朝qián乾xī夕tì惕diligent and vigilant day and night
- zhāo朝qián乾xī夕dàng愓diligent and cautious all day long
- zhāo朝yún云mù暮yǔ雨brief romantic encounter
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Open the tool →Questions about 朝不虑夕
What does 朝不虑夕 mean?
朝不虑夕 (zhāo bù lǜ xī) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to live in a precarious state, not knowing what the immediate future holds; to be in a desperate plight where one cannot even plan for the next day. It describes extreme instability, urgency, or uncertainty of one's survival or situation”.
How do you pronounce 朝不虑夕?
朝不虑夕 is pronounced zhāo bù lǜ xī in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 朝不虑夕 literally mean?
Literally, 朝不虑夕 means “Cannot plan for the evening in the morning”. It is used to mean “to live in a precarious state, not knowing what the immediate future holds; to be in a desperate plight where one cannot even plan for the next day. It describes extreme instability, urgency, or uncertainty of one's survival or situation”.
Where does 朝不虑夕 come from?
朝不虑夕 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 朝不虑夕?
早晨不能知道晚上会变成什么样子或发生什么情况。形容形势危急，难以预料。