燃眉之急 — “A matter of extreme urgency”
燃眉之急 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a matter of extreme urgency”. A pressing emergency; an urgent need. Literally, “Burning eyebrows' urgency”.
Frequency
燃眉之急 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 燃rán
- 眉méi
- 之zhī
- 急jí
燃眉之急 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 燃眉之急
这笔资金对我们来说是燃眉之急，希望能够尽快到位。
This fund is a pressing emergency for us; we hope it can be in place as soon as possible.
Origin and Story of 燃眉之急
During the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao aimed to unify the realm. He successively defeated Liu Biao and Liu Qi, drove Liu Bei out of Xinye, and pressed towards Eastern Wu.
Sun Quan, feeling alarmed, sent Lu Su to invite Zhuge Liang to Eastern Wu to discuss forming an alliance against Cao Cao.
Zhang Zhao, looking down on Zhuge Liang, remarked that he had no real ability to assist Liu Bei, which had led them to their current 'burning eyebrows' urgency (燃眉之急).
Zhuge Liang then skillfully won the debate against the gathered scholars, asserting his strategic prowess.
Idioms Related to 燃眉之急
Antonyms of 燃眉之急
Questions about 燃眉之急
- What does 燃眉之急 mean?
- 燃眉之急 (rán méi zhī jí) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a matter of extreme urgency”.
- How do you pronounce 燃眉之急?
- 燃眉之急 is pronounced rán méi zhī jí in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 燃眉之急 literally mean?
- Literally, 燃眉之急 means “Burning eyebrows' urgency”. It is used to mean “a matter of extreme urgency”.
- Where does 燃眉之急 come from?
- 燃眉之急 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 燃眉之急?
- 燃：烧。火烧眉毛那样紧急。形容事情非常急迫。