📖 Meaning
A folk euphemism for death. When a person dies and is laid flat on their back, the soles of their feet point upward toward the sky. It is used as an indirect, colloquial way of saying someone has passed away.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom is a folk euphemism for death without a specific literary source. It derives from the physical observation that when a corpse is laid out on its back, the soles of the feet naturally face upward toward the sky. Such circumlocutions for death were common in traditional Chinese culture, where speaking directly about dying was considered inauspicious or taboo. The phrase circulated orally among common people rather than appearing in classical texts.
💡 Example Usage
老李头常念叨，等他脚心朝天了，就把那几亩薄田全捐给村里。
Old Li often said that once he passed away, he would donate his few acres of land to the village.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 脚心朝天
- Pinyin: jiǎo xīn cháo tiān
- Literal Translation: sole of foot, face, sky
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4