祸福相依

禍福相依

huòfú-xiāngyī

idiom

Meanings

1 misfortune and fortune lean on each other
2 good and bad are intertwined

Characters

fortune, blessing

Examples

祸福相依,塞翁失马焉知非福。

Huòfú-xiāngyī, sàiwēng-shīmǎ yān zhī fēi fú.

Fortune and misfortune lean on each other — when the old man at the frontier lost his horse, who knew it wasn't a blessing?

人生祸福相依,不必为一时得失太过烦恼。

Rénshēng huòfú-xiāngyī, bùbì wèi yīshí déshī tài guò fánnǎo.

In life, misfortune and fortune are intertwined — don't fret too much over momentary gains and losses.

Tips

history

Per 《新华成语词典》, derived from 《老子》 chapter 58: 祸兮福之所倚，福兮祸之所伏 — 'misfortune is what fortune leans upon; fortune is where misfortune crouches.' Pure Daoist dialectics — the same logic underlies the chengyu 塞翁失马 (the parable of the old man whose lost horse turns out to be a blessing, and whose returning horses turn out to be a curse, and so on).

Stroke Order

祸 huò

福 fú

相 xiāng

依 yī