杞人忧天

杞人憂天

qǐrén-yōutiān

idiom #22,468

Meanings

1 to worry needlessly
2 to entertain groundless fears
3 to fret over nothing (like the man of Qi who feared the sky would fall)

Characters

Qi (ancient state in China)

to worry / to be anxious

Examples

你真是杞人忧天，这件事根本不会发生。

Nǐ zhēnshì qǐrényōutiān, zhè jiàn shì gēnběn bùhuì fāshēng.

You're really worrying needlessly — this thing is never going to happen.

不要杞人忧天了，一切都会好的。

Bùyào qǐrényōutiān le, yīqiè dōuhuì hǎode.

Stop worrying about nothing — everything will be fine.

Tips

history

From the ancient text Liezi (《列子》): a man from the state of Qi (杞) was so worried that the sky would collapse and the earth would cave in that he couldn't eat or sleep. A friend explained why his fears were groundless. The idiom now describes any unfounded anxiety.

Stroke Order

杞 qǐ

人 rén

忧 yōu

天 tiān