晴天霹雳 qíng tiān pī lì a bolt from the blue

Explanation

晴天霹雳是指在晴朗的天空中突然响起霹雳，比喻突然发生的，令人震惊的事件。

A bolt from the blue refers to a sudden clap of thunder in a clear sky, which is used to describe an unexpected and shocking event.

Origin Story

在一个阳光明媚的午后，小明正在公园里散步，突然，一声巨响划破了宁静的天空，小明被吓得一跳，抬头一看，只见一道闪电划过，接着就是震耳欲聋的雷声。小明赶紧躲到了一棵大树下，心想：真是晴天霹雳，怎么好端端地就打雷了呢？这时，旁边走过一位老爷爷，笑着对小明说：“孩子，别怕，这叫‘晴天霹雳’，意思是说天气很晴朗，突然就打雷下雨了，这是一种自然现象，不用害怕。”小明听了老爷爷的话，这才放下了心，他这才意识到，原来生活中的很多事情都是出乎意料的，我们要学会适应各种突发状况。

zài yī ge yáng guāng míng mèi de wǔ hòu， xiǎo míng zhèng zài gōng yuán lǐ sàn bù， túrán， yī shēng jù xiǎng huà pò le níng jìng de tiān kōng， xiǎo míng bèi xià de yī tiào， tái tóu yī kàn， zhǐ jiàn yī dào shǎn diàn huà guò， jiē zhe jiù shì zhèn ěr yù lóng de léi shēng。 xiǎo míng gǎn jǐn duǒ dào le yī kē dà shù xià， xīn xiǎng： zhēn shì qíng tiān pī lì， zěn me hǎo duān duān dì jiù dǎ léi ne？ zhè shí， páng biān zǒu guò yī wèi lǎo yé ye， xiào zhe duì xiǎo míng shuō：“háizi， bié pà， zhè jiào ‘qíng tiān pī lì’， yì sī shì shuō tiān qì hěn qíng lǎng， túrán jiù dǎ léi xià yǔ le， zhè shì yī zhǒng zì rán xiàn xiàng， bù yòng pà hǎi。” xiǎo míng tīng le lǎo yé ye de huà， cái cái fàng xià le xīn， tā cái cái yì shí dào， yuán lái shēng huó zhōng de hěn duō shì qíng dōu shì chū hū yì liào de， wǒ men yào xué huì shì yìng gè zhǒng tū fā zhuàng kuàng。

On a sunny afternoon, Little Ming was taking a walk in the park. Suddenly, a loud bang broke the peaceful sky. Little Ming jumped in fright, looked up and saw a flash of lightning followed by deafening thunder. Little Ming quickly took shelter under a big tree and thought, 'It's a bolt from the blue, how could it thunder in such a clear sky?' ,

Usage

晴天霹雳这个成语常用来形容突如其来的事情，让人感到震惊和意外。例如，当我们听到朋友突然去世的消息，我们会说：这真是晴天霹雳！

qíng tiān pī lì zhège chéng yǔ cháng yòng lái xíng róng tū rú lái de shì qíng， ràng rén gǎn dào zhèn jīng hé yì wài。 lì rú， dāng wǒ men tīng dào péng you túrán qù shì de xiāo xi， wǒ men huì shuō： zhè zhēn shì qíng tiān pī lì！

The idiom 'a bolt from the blue' is often used to describe something unexpected that shocks or surprises people. For example, when we hear the news of a sudden death of a friend, we might say: 'This is a bolt from the blue!'

Examples

• 他突然辞职的消息，真是一声晴天霹雳，让我们都措手不及。

  tā túrán cí zhí de xiāo xi， zhēn shì yī shēng qíng tiān pī lì， ràng wǒ men dōu cuò shǒu bù jí。

  The news of his sudden resignation was a bolt from the blue, catching us all off guard.

• 这个消息真是晴天霹雳，让我一下子不知道怎么办才好。

  zhège xiāo xi zhēn shì qíng tiān pī lì， ràng wǒ yī xià zi bù zhī dào zěn me bàn cái hǎo。

  This news is a bolt from the blue, I don't know what to do.

• 他突然宣布要结婚的消息，真是晴天霹雳，让所有人都感到惊讶。

  tā túrán xuān bù yào jié hūn de xiāo xi， zhēn shì qíng tiān pī lì， ràng suǒ yǒu rén dōu gǎn dào jīng yà。

  His sudden announcement that he was going to get married was a bolt from the blue, surprising everyone.

Related Idioms

• 突如其来

• 出乎意料

• 始料不及

Opposite Idioms

• 司空见惯

• 习以为常