📖 Meaning
Literally 'never a peaceful day.' It describes a state of endless unrest, turmoil, or trouble with no prospect of calm. The idiom is most often applied to society, a region, or a group of people that remains chronically unstable.
📜 Origin Story
Unlike most chengyu, 永无宁日 has no documented origin in a specific classical text or historical anecdote, and lexicons typically list its provenance as unknown. It is a modern compound formed by joining the adverbial phrase 永无 ('never having') with 宁日 ('a day of peace'), a combination that echoes older literary collocations such as 永无宁岁. Its usage became common in twentieth-century Chinese writing to depict war, banditry, and social chaos, and it now appears frequently in contemporary commentary, fiction, and news.
💡 Example Usage
这场纠纷若不妥善解决，邻里之间将永无宁日。
If this dispute is not properly resolved, the neighbors will never know a day of peace.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 永无宁日
- Pinyin: yǒng wú níng rì
- Literal Translation: forever, no, peaceful, day
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4