CHENGYU
四面八方(sì miàn bā fāng)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- neutral
- Source:
- 宋·释道原《景德传灯录》
MEANING
- Literal
- four faces and eight directions
- Figurative meaning
- in every direction; from all sides
ORIGIN STORY
From the Song dynasty Record of the Lamp, a Chan master asks: "When a thing comes from all eight directions at once — what then?" The doubled counting paints every compass point at once.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“from all quarters”
EXAMPLES
人们从四面八方赶来参加庆典。Rénmen cóng sì miàn bā fāng gǎn lái cānjiā qìngdiǎn.HSK6
People came from all directions to the celebration.
好消息传向四面八方。Hǎo xiāoxi chuán xiàng sì miàn bā fāng.HSK6
The good news spread in every direction.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: It is spatial — every direction — not "various kinds" or "many aspects".
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
Tap a character to explore it
TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01