谈虎色变 — “Mention a tiger, and one's countenance changes”
谈虎色变 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to turn pale or become agitated and tense at the mere mention of something one deeply fears or has been traumatized by; to show great fear at the mention of something scary”. Literally, “Mention a tiger, and one's countenance changes”.
谈虎色变 Pronunciation and Pinyin
谈虎色变 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 谈虎色变
Origin and Story of 谈虎色变
Cheng Hao, a famous Neo-Confucian philosopher during the Northern Song Dynasty, once said:
"There was a farmer who had previously been bitten by a tiger and thus truly understood its ferocity. One day, when he heard that a tiger had injured someone in another place, the people around him were astonished, but he himself became utterly terrified and changed color. This was because he had personal experience of being bitten.
Scholars seeking true knowledge should understand this principle."
Idioms Related to 谈虎色变
Synonyms of 谈虎色变
More idioms starting with 谈
- tán谈bù不róng容kǒu口praise incessantly
- tán谈jīn今lùn论gǔ古discussing past and present
- tán谈jīn今shuō说gǔ古talk about past and present
- tán谈yōu优wù务liè劣good at theorizing, poor at execution
- tán谈hé何róng容yì易easier said than done
- tán谈gǔ古lùn论jīn今discuss past and present
- tán谈gǔ古shuō说jīn今discuss past and present
- tán谈tǔ吐rú如liú流speak fluently and articulately
- tán谈tǔ吐shēng生fēng风speak with wit and charm
- tán谈tǔ吐fēng风shēng生speak wittily and engagingly
- tán谈tǔ吐fēng风yǎ雅speak elegantly and refinedly
- tán谈jué噱zì自ruò若talk and laugh naturally and composedly
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Open the tool →Questions about 谈虎色变
What does 谈虎色变 mean?
谈虎色变 (tán hǔ sè biàn) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to turn pale or become agitated and tense at the mere mention of something one deeply fears or has been traumatized by; to show great fear at the mention of something scary”.
How do you pronounce 谈虎色变?
谈虎色变 is pronounced tán hǔ sè biàn in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 谈虎色变 literally mean?
Literally, 谈虎色变 means “Mention a tiger, and one's countenance changes”. It is used to mean “to turn pale or become agitated and tense at the mere mention of something one deeply fears or has been traumatized by; to show great fear at the mention of something scary”.
Where does 谈虎色变 come from?
谈虎色变 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 谈虎色变?
色：脸色。原指被老虎咬过的人才真正知道虎的厉害。后比喻一提到自己害怕的事就情绪紧张起来。