📖 Meaning
Literally describing strong winds and towering waves. It is used metaphorically to describe a turbulent, perilous, or volatile situation fraught with difficulty and danger.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in modern Chinese journalism, notably cited in the Wenhui Daily (文汇报) on March 2, 1992, describing rough seas near a river outlet where waves surged and winds howled. Though its literary provenance is relatively recent, the imagery draws on a long tradition in Chinese writing of using maritime turbulence as a metaphor for adversity. The idiom captures the visceral danger of storms at sea and has been extended to describe any chaotic or hazardous circumstances.
💡 Example Usage
船只在风急浪高的海面上艰难前行。
The vessel struggled forward across a sea of howling winds and towering waves.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 风急浪高
- Pinyin: fēng jí làng gāo
- Literal Translation: wind, urgent, wave, high
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4