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挥汗成雨

揮汗成雨
huīhànchéngyǔ
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 the swept-off sweat falls like rain
  2. 2 a huge crowd; (also) drenched in sweat from heat or exertion

Examples

夏天的庙会上人山人海，挥汗成雨。
Xiàtiān de miàohuì shàng rénshānrénhǎi, huīhànchéngyǔ.
At the summer temple fair the crowd was so dense that the sweat fell like rain.
运动员在烈日下挥汗成雨。
Yùndòngyuán zài lièrì xià huīhànchéngyǔ.
The athletes were drenched in sweat under the blazing sun.

Tips

history
From 战国策·齐策一 (Zhànguócè · Qí Cè Yī, 'Strategies of the Warring States, Qi Strategies I'): 连衽成帷，举袂成幕，挥汗成雨 — 'their robes joined into a curtain, their sleeves raised into a tent, their flicked-off sweat fell like rain.' The phrase originally evoked the bustling crowds of the Qi capital Linzi (临淄).
usage
Two flavors of usage: (1) hyperbolic for huge crowds — the original sense; (2) literal for being drenched in sweat. Modern writing leans on the second.

Stroke Order

挥 huī
汗 hàn
成 chéng
雨 yǔ