CHENGYU
恍然大悟(huǎng rán dà wù)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- neutral
- Source:
- 宋·释道原《景德传灯录》
MEANING
- Literal
- suddenly to awaken to the whole truth
- Figurative meaning
- the penny drops; to realize all at once
ORIGIN STORY
In the Record of the Lamp, a student "suddenly woke to great understanding" under his master's teaching. The flash of realization — 恍然 the suddenness, 大悟 the completeness — became the phrase for the moment the mind lights up.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“the penny dropped”
EXAMPLES
听了老师的解释，我恍然大悟。Tīng le lǎoshī de jiěshì, wǒ huǎng rán dà wù.HSK6
After the teacher's explanation, the penny dropped.
看到线索，侦探恍然大悟。Kàn dào xiànsuǒ, zhēntàn huǎng rán dà wù.HSK6
Seeing the clue, the detective suddenly saw the whole picture.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: Note: 恍 is huǎng. It is a sudden full understanding — not gradual learning.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01