柳暗花明又一村

liǔ'ànhuāmíngyòuyìcūn

idiom

Meanings

1 past the shadowed willows and bright flowers, another village appears
2 a sudden turn for the better / an unexpected way out where none seemed possible

Characters

Examples

HSK 7-9

项目一度陷入绝境，没想到柳暗花明又一村，投资人突然出现了。

Xiàngmù yídù xiànrù juéjìng, méixiǎngdào liǔ'ànhuāmíngyòuyìcūn, tóuzīrén tūrán chūxiàn le.

The project seemed stuck, but then, unexpectedly, an investor appeared.

HSK 7-9

我以为走错路了，没想到前面柳暗花明又一村。

Wǒ yǐwéi zǒu cuò lù le, méixiǎngdào qiánmiàn liǔ'ànhuāmíngyòuyìcūn.

I thought I'd taken the wrong path - then ahead of me, another village appeared, and everything worked out.

Tips

history

From 陆游's Song-dynasty poem 《游山西村》: 山重水复疑无路，柳暗花明又一村 - 'Mountains pile on mountains, streams wind on - I fear there is no road; then past shadowed willows and bright flowers, another village appears.' Almost always quoted with the first half for the setup.

usage

Very common metaphor for breakthroughs after apparent deadlock - in business, relationships, research, diplomacy. Often shortened to 柳暗花明.

Stroke Order

柳 liǔ

暗 àn

花 huā

明 míng

又 yòu

一 yī

村 cūn