📖 Meaning
Describes an attitude of intense longing, admiration, or eager anticipation. The image is of a person craning their neck and standing on tiptoes to see or reach something they deeply desire. It conveys a fervent yearning or looking forward to something with great enthusiasm.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom combines two classical Chinese descriptive gestures of eager anticipation. "延颈" (stretching the neck) appears in texts such as the Zhuangzi and the Records of the Grand Historian (史记), describing people craning their necks to look for something they await. "跂踵" (standing on tiptoes) similarly appears in classical literature portraying the same posture of longing. The combined form is a variant of "延颈企踵," both expressing the same vivid imagery of physically stretching oneself to express desire. It was commonly used in classical prose to describe subjects yearning for a wise ruler or people eagerly awaiting welcome news.
💡 Example Usage
得知著名学者将来校讲学，学生们延颈跂踵，只盼早日聆听教诲。
Upon hearing that a renowned scholar would visit the university to lecture, the students craned their necks and stood on tiptoes, eagerly hoping to attend his teachings as soon as possible.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 延颈跂踵
- Pinyin: yán jǐng qǐ zhǒng
- Literal Translation: stretch neck, tiptoe heel
- Category: Attitude
- Characters: 4