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

HSK 2

今年夏天破天荒下了一场大雪。

Jīnnián xiàtiān pòtiānhuāng xià le yī cháng dàxuě.

This summer saw something unheard of - a heavy snowfall.

HSK 3

这家公司破天荒给员工放一个月年假。

Zhè jiā gōngsī pòtiānhuāng gěi yuángōng fàng yí gè yuè niánjià.

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

HSK 6

他破天荒第一次主动道歉。

Tā pòtiānhuāng dìyī cì zhǔdòng dàoqiàn.

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

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