📖 Meaning
Tilting one's head back so the nostrils face the sky. It describes someone who is extremely arrogant and haughty, looking down on everyone else. The image conveys an inflated sense of self-importance.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from Buddhist Chan (Zen) literature, appearing in works such as 'Wudeng Huiyuan' (Compendium of Five Lamps), a Song dynasty collection of Chan Buddhist records. In the text, the phrase is used metaphorically to describe a posture of arrogance—snorting with nostrils turned skyward. The Chan masters employed it to critique practitioners who lacked true enlightenment yet acted supremely self-satisfied. Over time it became a general expression for haughty disdain in everyday Chinese.
💡 Example Usage
他刚得了冠军，就鼻孔辽天，谁也不放在眼里了。
Right after winning the championship, he walked around with his nostrils pointing to the sky, treating no one as worthy of his regard.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 鼻孔辽天
- Pinyin: bí kǒng liáo tiān
- Literal Translation: nose, hole, distant, sky
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4