天网恢恢

天網恢恢

tiānwǎnghuīhuī

idiom #54,670

Meanings

1 heaven's net is wide; justice may be slow, but nothing escapes it
2 the long arm of justice catches all wrongdoers

Characters

vast; wide (reduplicated)

Examples

天网恢恢，疏而不漏，罪犯终究难逃法网。

Tiānwǎnghuīhuī, shū ér bú lòu, zuìfàn zhōngjiū nán táo fǎwǎng.

Heaven's net is wide but lets nothing through — criminals cannot escape justice in the end.

别以为自己很聪明，天网恢恢，总有一天会被抓到。

Bié yǐwéi zìjǐ hěn cōngmíng, tiānwǎnghuīhuī, zǒng yǒu yì tiān huì bèi zhuā dào.

Don't think you're so clever — the net of justice is wide, and one day you'll be caught.

Tips

history

From 《老子》 ch. 73: 天网恢恢，疏而不失 — 'Heaven's net is wide and loose-meshed, yet nothing slips through.' Almost always quoted with the follow-up phrase 疏而不漏 (shū ér bú lòu).

Stroke Order

天 tiān

网 wǎng

恢 huī