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

HSK 5

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 tiānhuā-luànzhuì, dàn shíjìshàng wèntí chóngchóng.

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

HSK 7-9

广告说得天花乱坠，买回来却大失所望。

Guǎnggào shuō de tiānhuā-luànzhuì, 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