📖 Meaning
Describes mountains or buildings so tall they seem to pierce into the clouds and sky. It conveys extreme height and grandeur, often used to depict towering peaks or skyscrapers. The phrase paints a vivid vertical image of something reaching far above the horizon.
📜 Origin Story
耸入云霄 is a descriptive four-character phrase rather than a classical allusion with a single identifiable source. It combines 耸 (to rise or tower), 入 (to enter), 云 (clouds), and 霄 (the highest sky), forming a vivid image rooted in the long Chinese literary tradition of praising natural and man-made grandeur. Similar phrasing appears throughout classical poetry and prose where writers depict imposing mountains or majestic architecture. No specific dynasty, historical figure, or canonical text is credited as its sole origin.
💡 Example Usage
远处群山耸入云霄，山顶常年积雪不化。
In the distance, the mountains tower into the clouds, their peaks covered with snow that never melts.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 耸入云霄
- Pinyin: sǒng rù yún xiāo
- Literal Translation: tower, enter, clouds, sky
- Category: Distance
- Characters: 4