📖 Meaning
A difference as vast as that between heaven and earth. Used to describe an enormous gap or extreme contrast between two things. The idiom emphasizes that two things are worlds apart in quality, condition, or nature.
📜 Origin Story
From 'Baopuzi' (抱朴子·内篇·论仙) by Ge Hong of the Jin Dynasty (晋代葛洪). The original text discusses how people's preferences and desires differ enormously, stating that such differences are already as vast as the gap between heaven and earth and as incompatible as ice and charcoal. Ge Hong used this comparison to illustrate the extreme divergence in human pursuits and values. Over time, the phrase '天壤之别' became a standalone idiom denoting a fundamental, unbridgeable difference.
💡 Example Usage
城乡教育资源的分配存在着天壤之别。
There is a world of difference in the distribution of educational resources between urban and rural areas.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 天壤之别
- Pinyin: tiān rǎng zhī bié
- Literal Translation: heaven, earth, of, difference
- Category: Distance
- Characters: 4