📖 Meaning
This idiom refers to unnecessary or groundless anxiety and worry. It is a variant of the more common 杞人忧天 and conveys the idea of fretting over something that will never happen.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom derives from a Daoist parable recorded in《列子·天瑞》(Liezi, 'Heaven's Gifts'), traditionally attributed to Liezi of the Warring States period (475–221 BCE), though the received text was compiled in the Jin dynasty (3rd–4th century CE). The story tells of a man from the state of Qi who feared the sky would collapse and the earth would cave in, losing sleep and appetite until a friend reassured him that the sky is accumulated qi and the earth is solid. The variant form 杞天之虑 abbreviates the fuller 杞人忧天 while preserving the same meaning of needless, unfounded worry.
💡 Example Usage
孩子成绩一向稳定，你的担忧纯属杞天之虑。
Your child's grades have always been steady; your worry is entirely unfounded.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 杞天之虑
- Pinyin: qǐ tiān zhī lǜ
- Literal Translation: Qi, sky, of, worry
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4