天花乱坠

天花亂墜

tiānhuā-luànzhuì

idiom #25,150

Meanings

1 to talk extravagantly; to paint a rosy picture with exaggeration
2 lit. flowers falling in chaos from heaven; hype; wild embellishments

Characters

chaotic; wild; confused

to fall; to drop

Examples

他把公司的前景说得天花乱坠，但实际上问题重重。

Tā bǎ gōngsī de qiánjǐng shuō de tiānhuāluànzhuì, dàn shíjìshàng wèntí chóngchóng.

He painted a wildly rosy picture of the company's prospects, but in reality it was riddled with problems.

广告说得天花乱坠，买回来却大失所望。

Guǎnggào shuō de tiānhuāluànzhuì, mǎi huílái què dàshīsuǒwàng.

The advertisement was full of extravagant claims, but after buying it I was deeply disappointed.

Tips

history

The idiom originates from Buddhist scripture: when the monk Yunguang gave a magnificent sermon, flowers were said to rain down from heaven. 天花乱坠 now ironically describes speech that is dazzling but empty.

Stroke Order

天 tiān

花 huā

乱 luàn

坠 zhuì