📖 Meaning
This idiom describes a place at the far ends of the earth, or an extremely remote and distant location. It conveys the sense of being separated by vast distances, often used to express the emotional weight of being far apart from loved ones.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase traces back to a letter by Xu Ling of the Southern Dynasties Chen period, titled 'Letter to the Chieftains of Lingnan When Emperor Wu Served as Prime Minister,' which mentions the sky's distant edge and the earth's far corner. In the Song dynasty, Zhang Shinan's 'Youhuan Jiwen' (Record of Traveling Officialdom), Volume 6, recorded that officials serving in remote posts and merchants traveling far all described their distant locations as 'the edge of the sky and the corner of the sea.' Over time, the expression became a standard idiom for the remotest corners of the world.
💡 Example Usage
纵然你走到天涯海角，我也会找到你。
Even if you go to the ends of the earth, I will find you.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 天涯海角
- Pinyin: tiān yá hǎi jiǎo
- Literal Translation: sky, edge, sea, corner
- Category: Distance
- Characters: 4