吞云吐雾

吞雲吐霧

tūnyún-tǔwù

idiom #42,164

Meanings

1 to swallow clouds and belch fog
2 to puff away on a cigarette or pipe

Characters

Examples

他坐在沙发上吞云吐雾。

Tā zuò zài shāfā shàng tūnyúntǔwù.

He sat on the sofa puffing away.

办公室里不许吞云吐雾。

Bàngōngshì lǐ bùxǔ tūnyúntǔwù.

Smoking is not allowed in the office.

Tips

history

From Shen Yue's 《郊居赋》 (Southern Dynasties, Liang) — originally a Daoist image of an adept inhaling mists and exhaling clouds. Modern usage transferred the imagery to smoking.

Stroke Order

吞 tūn

云 yún

吐 tǔ

雾 wù