死灰复燃 — “Dead ashes rekindle”
死灰复燃 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Dead ashes rekindle”. (fig.) to revive, to resurface, to come back to life (especially of something negative, suppressed, or thought to be gone, becoming active again). Literally, “Dead ashes rekindle”.
死灰复燃 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 死sǐ
- 灰huī
- 复fù
- 燃rán
死灰复燃 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 死灰复燃
Origin and Story of 死灰复燃
During the Western Han Dynasty, Han Anguo was a popular figure close to Emperor Jing and King Xiao of Liang. However, in his youth, he also experienced a complicated story. Due to being implicated in a certain matter, he was sent to prison to await the final judgment.
In prison, there was a guard named Tian Jia who was very rude to him and often humiliated him without mercy. One time, Anguo was bullied excessively and told Tian Jia, "Don't you think I will never have my day to shine in this life. Can ashes that have temporarily extinguished their flame not rekindle?" Tian Jia said proudly, "If they do, I will certainly pee on them to put them out."
However, not long after, Anguo was released without charge and even became a high-ranking official. At this point, Tian Jia had no choice but to bow his head and admit his mistake to Han Anguo.
Idioms Related to 死灰复燃
More idioms starting with 死
- sǐ死bù不huí回tóu头stubbornly refuse to change
- sǐ死bù不kāi开kǒu口refuse to speak or reveal information
- sǐ死bù不huǐ悔gǎi改stubbornly refuse to repent
- sǐ死bù不gǎi改huǐ悔unrepentant until death
- sǐ死bù不xuán旋zhǒng踵Advance with unwavering resolve unto death
- sǐ死bù不sǐ死，，huó活bù不huó活caught in an agonizing dilemma
- sǐ死bù不gān甘xīn心unwilling to accept defeat until death
- sǐ死bù不míng瞑mù目die with everlasting regret
- sǐ死bù不yào要liǎn脸utterly shameless
- sǐ死bù不zú足xī惜death not worth regretting
- sǐ死bù不bì闭mù目die with unfulfilled wishes
- sǐ死qiě且bù不xiǔ朽to be remembered forever
Questions about 死灰复燃
- What does 死灰复燃 mean?
- 死灰复燃 (sǐ huī fù rán) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Dead ashes rekindle”.
- How do you pronounce 死灰复燃?
- 死灰复燃 is pronounced sǐ huī fù rán in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 死灰复燃 literally mean?
- Literally, 死灰复燃 means “Dead ashes rekindle”. It is used to mean “Dead ashes rekindle”.
- Where does 死灰复燃 come from?
- 死灰复燃 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 死灰复燃?
- 冷灰重新烧了起来。原比喻失势的人重新得势。现常比喻已经消失了的恶势力又重新活动起来。