📖 Meaning
Describes falling flat on one's back with all four limbs pointing up at the sky. It can also be used figuratively to refer to someone dying. The idiom vividly captures the posture of being completely overturned or knocked over.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Qing dynasty novel 'Shuo Yue Quan Zhuan' (The Complete Story of Yue Fei) by Qian Cai. In the first chapter, a character is pecked by the great mythical peng bird and immediately falls flat on his back with limbs in the air, dead. The vivid image of four limbs pointing skyward became a lasting expression for falling over helplessly or meeting one's end.
💡 Example Usage
他脚下一滑，摔得四脚朝天，半天爬不起来。
He slipped and fell flat on his back with limbs in the air, unable to get up for a long while.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 四脚朝天
- Pinyin: sì jiǎo cháo tiān
- Literal Translation: four, legs, point, toward, sky
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4