📖 Meaning
Literally meaning one cannot guarantee the evening from the morning. It describes an extremely precarious or desperate situation where circumstances may change at any moment and survival is uncertain.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Jin dynasty scholar Yuan Hong's work 'Chronicle of the Later Han' (后汉纪), in the section on Emperor Zhi. The passage describes how high-ranking officials treated the common people harshly, like captives, forcing some to sell their land and homes and beating others to death. The people were left utterly destitute, and their situation was so dire that they could not be certain of surviving from morning to evening.
💡 Example Usage
战乱之中，百姓朝不保暮，不知明日是否还能活着。
Amid the chaos of war, the common people could not be sure of surviving from morning to evening, not knowing whether they would still be alive the next day.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 朝不保暮
- Pinyin: zhāo bù bǎo mù
- Literal Translation: morning, not, guarantee, evening
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4