CHENGYU
千变万化(qiān biàn wàn huà)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- neutral
- Source:
- 《列子·周穆王》
MEANING
- Literal
- a thousand changes and ten thousand transformations
- Figurative meaning
- ever-changing; endlessly varied
ORIGIN STORY
The Liezi tells of an ancient king's spirit journey, "floating without falling, touching without striking — changing a thousand ways, never exhausted." The phrase captures endless, kaleidoscopic variety.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“ever-shifting”
EXAMPLES
天气千变万化，出门要带伞。Tiānqì qiān biàn wàn huà, chūmén yào dài sǎn.HSK6
The weather changes a thousand ways — take an umbrella.
市场需求千变万化，要灵活应对。Shìchǎng xūqiú qiān biàn wàn huà, yào línghuó yìngduì.HSK6
Market demand shifts endlessly; respond flexibly.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: It is endless variety and change — not chaos or instability in a bad sense.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01