📖 Meaning
Describes something so tightly sealed or heavily guarded that not even wind can pass through. Commonly used for tight encirclements, strict defenses, or airtight arrangements with no gaps whatsoever.
📜 Origin Story
From the Yuan dynasty play 'The Orphan of Zhao' (赵氏孤儿) by playwright Ji Junxiang, Act 2. The drama depicts two rival houses hunting for the orphan heir of the Zhao clan, with soldiers surrounding Taiping Village like an iron bucket, so tightly sealed that not even wind could penetrate. The phrase originally portrayed an impenetrable military encirclement in this historical revenge tragedy. It later broadened to describe any airtight, leakproof arrangement, guard, or enclosure.
💡 Example Usage
敌军将城池围得密不通风，连一只苍蝇也飞不出去。
The enemy forces surrounded the city so tightly that not even a fly could slip out.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 密不通风
- Pinyin: mì bù tōng fēng
- Literal Translation: dense, not, pass through, wind
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4