乾坤

qiánkūn

noun #26,942

Meanings

1 heaven and earth; the universe
2 yin and yang; the cosmos

Characters

heaven; yang; the first I Ching hexagram

earth; yin; the second I Ching hexagram

Examples

他胸怀乾坤，志向远大。

Tā xiōnghuái qiánkūn, zhìxiàng yuǎndà.

He carries the universe in his heart and has great ambitions.

这一招扭转乾坤，改变了整个局势。

Zhè yī zhāo niǔzhuǎn qiánkūn, gǎibiàn le zhěnggè júshì.

This move reversed the situation entirely and changed the whole landscape.

Tips

culture

乾 (qián) and 坤 (kūn) are the first two hexagrams of the I Ching (易经): 乾 represents Heaven and yang energy; 坤 represents Earth and yin energy. Together they symbolize the totality of existence. The phrase 扭转乾坤 (to reverse heaven and earth) means to completely turn a situation around.

Stroke Order

乾 qián

坤 kūn