📖 Meaning
Literally, one's coughs and spittle turn into pearls. It is a metaphor for speech that is exceptionally apt, refined, and perceptive, or for writing of outstanding beauty. The character 咳 may also be written as 欬.
📜 Origin Story
The image originates in the Zhuangzi chapter 'Autumn Floods' (Qiu Shui), where spittle is compared to jewels and mist: when spat out, the large drops are like pearls and the small like mist. The Eastern Han scholar Zhao Yi later used the image in a poem recorded in the Book of the Later Han (Hou Han Shu): 'Powerful houses find everything fitting; their very coughs and spittle naturally form pearls,' satirizing how the influential were praised for whatever they said. Song dynasty poet Mei Yaochen then employed the idiom in a verse replying to his friend on returning to court.
💡 Example Usage
他随手写下的文字便咳唾成珠，令人叹服。
Even the words he jots down casually fall like pearls from his lips, winning everyone's admiration.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 咳唾成珠
- Pinyin: ké tuò chéng zhū
- Literal Translation: cough, spit, become, pearl
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4