破天荒

pòtiānhuāng

idiom #34,650

Meanings

1 to break the heavenly wasteland
2 unprecedented; happening for the first time ever
3 to do something never before done

Characters

wasteland; barren

Examples

这家公司破天荒给员工放一个月年假。

Zhè jiā gōngsī pòtiānhuāng gěi yuángōng fàng yī gè yuè nián jià.

The company gave its employees a whole month of annual leave — an unprecedented move.

他破天荒第一次主动道歉。

Tā pòtiānhuāng dì yī cì zhǔdòng dàoqiàn.

For the first time ever, he apologized without being asked.

今年夏天破天荒下了一场大雪。

Jīnnián xiàtiān pòtiānhuāng xiàle yī chǎng dàxuě.

This summer saw something unheard of — a heavy snowfall.

Tips

history

From 《北梦琐言》: Tang-era Jingzhou went generation after generation without producing a successful imperial exam candidate, earning the region the mocking label 天荒 ('heavenly wasteland'). When 刘蜕 finally passed, people cheered that he had '破天荒' — broken the barren spell. Modern usage keeps the flavor: a first that shatters a long drought.

usage

Works adverbially before a verb: 破天荒地 + VERB ('did, for the first time ever, X').

Stroke Order

破 pò

天 tiān

荒 huāng