如日中天

rúrìzhōngtiān

idiom #35,324

Meanings

1 like the sun at noon
2 at the peak of one's power or fame
3 in its golden age

Characters

Examples

他的事业正如日中天。

Tā de shìyè zhèng rúrìzhōngtiān.

His career is at its absolute peak.

那时这家公司如日中天，谁也想不到后来会破产。

Nà shí zhè jiā gōngsī rúrìzhōngtiān, shéi yě xiǎng bù dào hòulái huì pòchǎn.

Back then the company was at its zenith; no one imagined it would later go bankrupt.

这位年轻演员如日中天，片约不断。

Zhè wèi niánqīng yǎnyuán rúrìzhōngtiān, piàn yuē bùduàn.

This young actor is at the height of his fame, with film offers pouring in.

Tips

history

From the 《诗经·邶风·简兮》: "日之方中，在前上处" — the sun is at midday, high in the front. The chengyu distills this image of the noonday sun into a metaphor for a person, enterprise, or era at its brightest.

usage

Positive but often used with an implicit warning — 中 (midday) is also the moment just before decline. Good writers use it knowing "peak" foreshadows the descent.

Stroke Order

如 rú

日 rì

中 zhōng

天 tiān