📖 Meaning
A vivid metaphor for boasting, bragging, or talking big without substance. It describes someone who speaks in a flashy, slippery manner — full of empty words and exaggerated claims, like drifting flowers carried by flowing water, leaving nothing solid behind.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from Chapter 74 of 'Journey to the West' (西游记), the classic Ming Dynasty novel by Wu Cheng'en (吴承恩). In the scene, a character warns someone not to behave like a certain monk who had just arrived, speaking in a '走花溜水' manner — that is, talking slick and boastful nonsense. The phrase captures the image of words that glide over the surface without depth, much like petals drifting on a stream.
💡 Example Usage
他整天走花溜水，没一句实在话。
He does nothing but talk big all day long, without a single honest word.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 走花溜水
- Pinyin: zǒu huā liū bīng
- Literal Translation: walk, flower, slip, water
- Category: Communication
- Characters: 4