如临深渊

如臨深淵
rúlín-shēnyuān
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 as if standing at the edge of an abyss
  2. 2 with extreme caution

Examples

HSK 6
Tā gāng dāngshàng jīnglǐ, měi tiān dōu rúlín-shēnyuān, bù gǎn yǒu yìdiǎnr mǎhu.
He has just become a manager and goes about every day as if at the edge of an abyss, never daring to be the least bit careless.
HSK 7-9
Guǎnlǐ zhème dà yì bǐ qián, wǒmen bìxū rúlín-shēnyuān, rúlǚ-bóbīng.
Handling such a large sum of money, we must be extremely careful, as if at the edge of an abyss or on thin ice.

Tips

history
From the ode 小旻 in the 诗经: 战战兢兢,如临深渊,如履薄冰, 'trembling and wary, as if at the edge of a deep pool, as if treading on thin ice'. The two images still usually come as a pair.

Stroke Order

如 rú
临 lín
深 shēn
渊 yuān