CHENGYU
塞翁失马(sài wēng shī mǎ)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- literary
- Source:
- 《淮南子·人间训》
MEANING
- Literal
- the old man of the border loses his horse
- Figurative meaning
- a blessing in disguise; misfortune may turn to fortune
ORIGIN STORY
In the Huainanzi, an old border man's horse ran away; neighbors consoled him, but he saw no certainty in it. The horse returned with a fine herd — and later events kept flipping between luck and misfortune.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“a blessing in disguise”
EXAMPLES
丢了工作也许是塞翁失马，说不定有更好的机会。Diū le gōngzuò yěxǔ shì sài wēng shī mǎ, shuōbudìng yǒu gèng hǎo de jīhuì.HSK6
Losing the job may be a blessing in disguise; perhaps a better chance awaits.
这次失败可能是塞翁失马，焉知非福。Zhè cì shībài kěnéng shì sài wēng shī mǎ, yān zhī fēi fú.HSK6
This failure may be the old man's lost horse — who knows if it is not luck?
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: Note the reading: 塞 is sài (border), not sāi (to plug).
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-14
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01