乍暖还寒 zhà nuǎn hái hán erratic weather

Explanation

形容冬末春初气候忽冷忽热，冷热不定。

Describes the erratic weather at the turn of winter and spring, sometimes warm, sometimes cold.

Origin Story

隆冬时节，寒风凛冽，鹅毛大雪纷纷扬扬地飘落下来，大地一片银装素裹。然而，没过几天，天气骤然回暖，阳光明媚，春意盎然。人们纷纷脱下厚重的冬衣，换上轻便的春装。然而好景不长，几天后，寒流再次来袭，冷风嗖嗖地刮着，让人不寒而栗。人们又不得不重新穿上厚厚的棉衣。这样的天气，忽冷忽热，让人难以捉摸，真可谓是乍暖还寒。 一位老农站在田埂上，看着田里刚刚冒出嫩芽的小麦，叹了口气说："这天气，真让人担心啊！乍暖还寒的，小麦苗儿受得了吗？"他的老伴儿走过来，安慰他说："别担心，只要咱们精心照料，小麦苗儿一定能熬过去。" 果不其然，经过一段时间的反复，天气终于稳定下来，温暖的阳光普照大地，小麦苗儿茁壮成长，迎来了丰收。

lóng dōng shí jié hán fēng lǐn liè é máo dà xuě fēn fēn yáng yáng de piāo luò xià lái dà dì yī piàn yín zhuāng sù guǒ rán ér méi guò jǐ tiān tiān qì zhòu rán huí nuǎn yáng guāng míng mèi chūn yì àng rán rén men fēn fēn tuō xià hòu zhòng de dōng yī huàn shàng qīng biàn de chūn zhuāng rán ér hǎo jǐng bù cháng jǐ tiān hòu hán liú zài cì lái xí lěng fēng sōu sōu de guā zhe ràng rén bù hán ér lì rén men yòu bù dé bù chóng xīn chuān shàng hòu hòu de mián yī zhè yàng de tiān qì hū lěng hū rè ràng rén nán yǐ zhuō mō zhēn kě wèi shì zhà nuǎn hái hán yī wèi lǎo nóng zhàn zài tián gěng shàng kàn zhe tián lǐ gāng gāng mào chū nèn yá de xiǎo mài tàn le kǒng qì shuō zhè tiān qì zhēn ràng rén dānxīn a zhà nuǎn hái hán de xiǎo mài miáo ér shòu de le ma tā de lǎo bàn ér zǒu guò lái ān wèi tā shuō bié dānxīn zhǐ yào zán men jīng xīn zhào liào xiǎo mài miáo ér yī dìng néng áo guò qù guǒ bù qí rán jīng guò yī duàn shí jiān de fǎn fù tiān qì zhōng yú wěn dìng xià lái wēn nuǎn de yáng guāng pǔ zhào dà dì xiǎo mài miáo ér zhuó zhuàng chéng zhǎng yíng lái le fēng shōu

In the dead of winter, a bitter wind howled, and fluffy snowflakes fell, covering the earth in a blanket of white. However, after a few days, the weather suddenly turned warm, with bright sunshine and a pleasant spring atmosphere. People took off their thick winter clothes and changed into lighter spring clothes. Yet the good times didn't last. A few days later, a cold wave swept in again, with a cold wind blowing, making people shiver with cold. People had to put on their thick cotton-padded clothes again. This kind of weather, alternating between warm and cold, was unpredictable, a true example of "zhà nuǎn hái hán". An old farmer stood on the ridge of a field, looking at the young wheat sprouts that had just emerged, and sighed, "This weather is really worrisome! It’s warm and then cold again, will the wheat seedlings be able to withstand it?" His old wife came over and comforted him, "Don't worry, as long as we take good care of them, the wheat seedlings will certainly be able to survive." Sure enough, after a period of fluctuating weather, the weather finally stabilized, and the warm sunshine bathed the earth, allowing the wheat seedlings to grow strong and bring a bountiful harvest.

Usage

用于描写冬末春初气温变化无常的情况。

yòng yú miáo xiě dōng mò chūn chū qì wēn biàn huà wú cháng de qíng kuàng

Used to describe the unpredictable temperature changes at the end of winter and beginning of spring.

Examples

• 乍暖还寒的天气让人难以适应。

  zhà nuǎn hái hán de tiān qì ràng rén nán yǐ shì yìng

  The fluctuating weather is difficult to adapt to.

• 这几天天气乍暖还寒，感冒的人很多。

  zhè jǐ tiān tiān qì zhà nuǎn hái hán gǎn mào de rén hěn duō

  Many people have caught colds because of the erratic warm and cold weather these days.

Related Idioms

• 春寒

• 料峭

• 回暖

Opposite Idioms

• 稳定

• 持久