📖 Meaning
Out of ten, eight or nine times; the overwhelming majority of cases. It expresses that something is extremely likely or happens in the great majority of instances, close to 'almost certainly.'
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from a poem by the Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu titled 'Fu Xin Xing' (The Firewood Carrier's Song), which depicts the harsh lives of women in the mountains of Kui Prefecture who shouldered the burden of gathering and selling firewood to support their households. The line '十有八九负薪归' describes how eight or nine out of ten such women would return carrying loads of firewood. Later writers, including Ling Mengchu of the Ming Dynasty in 'Chuke Pai'an Jingqi,' adopted the phrase to convey that something is nearly certain or accounts for the vast majority of cases.
💡 Example Usage
看这天气乌云密布，十有八九是要下暴雨了。
With the sky this dark and thick with clouds, nine times out of ten we're in for a heavy rain.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 十有八九
- Pinyin: shí yǒu bā jiǔ
- Literal Translation: ten, have, eight, nine
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4