📖 Meaning
This idiom refers to sudden and unexpected calamities that befall a person for no apparent reason. It describes disastrous events that arrive unpredictably, much like a disaster flying in from nowhere. It is equivalent to the variant form '横祸飞灾'.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in the modern literary work '检察长人选' (The Candidate for Chief Prosecutor) by Xu Shaowu (徐绍武). In the story, a character emotionally addresses a good-hearted comrade, expressing hope that the person will safely endure a year plagued by unforeseen disasters. The idiom builds on the older concept of '横祸' (an unexpected calamity) by pairing it with '飞' (flying) to emphasize the sudden, unanticipated nature of the misfortune that seems to descend from nowhere.
💡 Example Usage
他本本分分做人，却遭此横灾飞祸，实在令人惋惜。
He lived an honest and proper life, yet suffered such an unexpected calamity—it is truly regrettable.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 横灾飞祸
- Pinyin: hèng zāi fēi huò
- Literal Translation: unexpected, disaster, flying, misfortune
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4