CHENGYU
凿壁偷光(záo bì tōu guāng)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- literary, approving
- Source:
- 《西京杂记》
MEANING
- Literal
- to bore a hole in the wall to steal light
- Figurative meaning
- to study under the hardest conditions
ORIGIN STORY
The poor boy Kuang Heng could not afford candles, so he bored a small hole in the wall to read by the lamplight of his rich neighbor. He became one of the great scholars of the Han dynasty.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“to burn the midnight oil”
EXAMPLES
那时候没有电灯，他凿壁偷光也要读书。Nà shíhou méiyǒu diàndēng, tā záo bì tōu guāng yě yào dúshū.HSK6
There was no electric light then, yet he read by light stolen through the wall.
现在的孩子条件这么好，不用像古人那样凿壁偷光。Xiànzài de háizi tiáojiàn zhème hǎo, bù yòng xiàng gǔrén nàyàng záo bì tōu guāng.HSK6
Children today have it so good they need not borrow light like the ancients.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: 偷 here means "to borrow secretly", not stealing an object — the idiom praises study, not theft.
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01