瞬息之间 shùnxī zhījiān In the blink of an eye

Explanation

形容时间非常短。

Describes a very short period of time.

Origin Story

话说唐朝时期，一位名叫李白的诗人正乘船游览长江。夕阳西下，两岸风光旖旎，诗兴大发，提笔欲作诗一首。可就在他凝神思考之际，一条巨型白鲸突然跃出水面，惊得他手中的笔都掉落水中。然而，这白鲸的出现以及消失，都发生在转瞬之间，快到李白几乎以为自己产生了幻觉。仅仅是一瞬间，白鲸便消失得无影无踪，留下波光粼粼的江面，仿佛一切从未发生。李白回过神来，感叹时间的短暂和自然的神奇，以及自己错失了这稍纵即逝的灵感。他只能无奈地苦笑，继续自己的旅程，但白鲸的形象却深深地印刻在他的脑海中，成为他日后创作灵感的源泉。

huì shuō táng cháo shíqī, yī wèi míng jiào lǐ bái de shī rén zhèng chéng chuán yóulǎn cháng jiāng. xīyáng xī xià, liǎng àn fēngguāng yǐnǐ, shī xīng dà fā, tí bǐ yù zuò shī yī shǒu. kě jiù zài tā níngshén sīkǎo zhī jì, yī tiáo jùxíng bái jīng tūrán yuè chū shuǐmiàn, jīng de tā shǒu zhōng de bǐ dōu diàoluò shuǐ zhōng. rán'ér, zhè bái jīng de chūxiàn yǐjí xiāoshī, dōu fāshēng zài zhuǎnshùn zhī jiān, kuài dào lǐ bái hū hū yǐ wéi zìjǐ chǎnshēng le huànjué. jǐngjǐng shì yī shùnxī, bái jīng biàn xiāoshī de wú yǐng wú zōng, liú xià bōguāng línlín de jiāngmiàn, fǎngfú yīqiè cóngwèi fāshēng. lǐ bái huí guò shén lái, gǎntàn shíjiān de duǎn zàn hé zìrán de shénqí, yǐjí zìjǐ cuòshī le zhè shāo zòng jì shì de línggǎn. tā zhǐ néng wú nài de kěuxiào, jìxù zìjǐ de lǚchéng, dàn bái jīng de xíngxiàng què shēnshēn de yìnkè zài tā de nǎohǎi zhōng, chéngwéi tā rìhòu chuàngzuò línggǎn de yuánquán.

Once upon a time, during the Tang Dynasty, a poet named Li Bai was traveling along the Yangtze River by boat. As the sun set, the scenery was so beautiful that it inspired him to write a poem. But as he was concentrating, a huge white whale suddenly jumped out of the water, startling him so much that he dropped his pen. However, the whale's appearance and disappearance happened in a blink of an eye, so fast that Li Bai almost thought he was hallucinating. In a split second, the whale had vanished without a trace, leaving behind the shimmering surface of the river, as if nothing had happened. Li Bai came to his senses and sighed at the fleeting nature of time and the wonder of nature, and at the lost inspiration. He could only smile helplessly and continue his journey, but the image of the whale was deeply etched in his mind, becoming a source of inspiration for his future creations.

Usage

作状语，用于描写时间短暂。

zuò zhuàngyǔ, yòngyú miáoxiě shíjiān duǎnzàn

As an adverbial, used to describe a short period of time.

Examples

• 瞬息之间，战斗结束了。

  shùnxī zhījiān, zhàndòu jiéshùle.

  In the blink of an eye, the battle was over.

• 事情发生在瞬息之间，令人难以置信。

  shìqíng fāshēng zài shùnxī zhījiān, lìng rén nányǐ zhìxìn.

  The event happened in the blink of an eye, it is hard to believe.

Related Idioms

• 转瞬之间

• 一瞬间

Opposite Idioms

• 亘古

• 悠久