飞黄腾达

飛黃騰達

fēihuáng-téngdá

idiom

Meanings

HSK 3

不是每个人都能飞黄腾达。

Búshì měigè rén dōu néng fēihuángténgdá.

Not everyone can rise to the top so quickly.

HSK 6

他大学毕业后飞黄腾达，三十岁就当了总经理。

Tā dàxué bìyè hòu fēihuángténgdá, sānshí suì jiù dāng le zǒngjīnglǐ.

After graduating, his career took off and he became CEO by thirty.

HSK 7-9

他一心想飞黄腾达，却忽视了家人。

Tā yīxīn xiǎng fēihuángténgdá, què hūshì le jiārén.

He was set on getting ahead but neglected his family.

history

From Han Yu's Tang poem 《符读书城南》: 飞黄腾踏去. 飞黄 was a legendary divine horse; the image is of that horse leaping into the sky.

Often carries a slightly envious or sarcastic tone when describing someone else's rapid success.

飞 fēi

黄 huáng

腾 téng

达 dá