化为泡影

化為泡影

huàwéi-pàoyǐng

idiom

Meanings

1 to vanish like bubbles and shadows; to come to nothing
2 (of plans, hopes) to dissolve into thin air

Characters

to transform into

Examples

HSK 7-9

一场大火让他多年的积蓄化为泡影。

Yì chǎng dàhuǒ ràng tā duō nián de jīxù huàwéi-pàoyǐng.

A single fire reduced his years of savings to nothing.

HSK 7-9

由于资金断裂，所有计划都化为泡影。

Yóuyú zījīn duànliè, suǒyǒu jìhuà dōu huàwéi-pàoyǐng.

Because the funding dried up, every plan dissolved into thin air.

Tips

memory

泡影 is a Buddhist term combining 泡 (bubble) + 影 (shadow), both things that appear real but have no substance. Picture hopes popping like soap bubbles and vanishing like shadows at noon.

Stroke Order

化 huà

为 wéi

泡 pào

影 yǐng