📖 Meaning
Describes movement that is swift, fierce, and powerful. It evokes the image of a person springing into action with the explosive speed and grace of birds in flight.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom comes from the Jin Dynasty text 'Soushen Ji' (In Search of the Supernatural) by Gan Bao, Volume 11. It describes the warrior Gu Yezi (古冶子), who dove into a river to battle a giant turtle. He emerged from the water holding the turtle's head in his left hand and a horse's rein in his right, 'leaping like a swallow and bounding like a swan,' and his great shout caused the river to flow backward for three hundred paces.
💡 Example Usage
只见那武士燕跃鹄踊，瞬间冲出重围。
The warrior leaped forth with swallow-like swiftness and swan-like power, instantly breaking through the encirclement.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 燕跃鹄踊
- Pinyin: yàn yuè hú yǒng
- Literal Translation: swallow leaps, swan bounds
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4