化险为夷

化險為夷

huàxiǎnwéiyí

idiom HSK 7 #27,455

Meanings

Xìnghǎo yǒu rén bāngmáng, tā cái huàxiǎnwéiyí.

Luckily someone helped, and he managed to avert disaster.

Fēixíngyuán chénzhuó lěngjìng, zuìzhōng huàxiǎnwéiyí.

The pilot stayed calm and cool, and ultimately turned the danger into safety.

history

夷 originally referred to flat, level ground — hence safety. The idiom means to transform (化) a dangerous (险) situation into (为) a safe one (夷).

usage

Often used after narrow escapes or successful crisis management. Similar to English "dodged a bullet" but more formal.

化 huà

险 xiǎn

为 wèi

夷 yí