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空穴来风

空穴來風
kōngxuéláifēng
idiom #34,659

Meanings

  1. 1 rumors have some basis
  2. 2 where there's smoke there's fire
  3. 3 (modern usage) an unfounded rumor

Examples

这种传言并非空穴来风。
Zhè zhǒng chuányán bìngfēi kōngxuéláifēng.
This rumor is not without some basis.
公司要裁员的消息恐怕不是空穴来风。
Gōngsī yào cáiyuán de xiāoxi kǒngpà bùshì kōngxuéláifēng.
The news that the company is going to lay off staff is probably not groundless.
他的担心绝非空穴来风，之前确实有过类似事件。
Tā de dānxīn jué fēi kōngxuéláifēng, zhīqián quèshí yǒu guò lèisì shìjiàn.
His concern is certainly not without cause — there have been similar incidents before.

Tips

history
From Song Yu's Warring-States 《风赋》: 枳句来巢，空穴来风 — 'crooked branches invite birds to nest; hollow caves invite wind.' Classically it meant that an opening invites the relevant response — i.e. a rumor has a real cause behind it.
mistakes
Widely misused. Classical meaning: rumors have real basis (equivalent to 'where there's smoke, there's fire'). Modern popular usage often flips it to mean 'groundless rumor'. The PRC dictionary 《现代汉语词典》 now accepts both. To avoid ambiguity, pair with context: 并非空穴来风 (not without basis) is unambiguous.

Stroke Order

空 kōng
穴 xué
来 lái
风 fēng