危如朝露

Mandarin · pinyin wēi rú zhāo lù

Meanings

  1. precarious as the morning dew (idiom); fig. ephemeral and precarious nature of human existence
Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

危
wēi · dangerous, precarious; high; 12th lunar mansion, determinative star α Aquarii (Sadalmelik)
如
rú · if, supposing; as if; like, as
朝
cháo · dynasty; morning
露
lù · dew; bare, open, exposed
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–2–1–4 · wei1 ru2 zhao1 lu4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links
Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

危如朝露 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ngai4 jyu4 ziu1 lou6

Cantonese word readings for 危如朝露. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

危如朝露 · wei1 ru2 zhao1 lu4
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 17,698
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record危如朝露 危如朝露 [wei1 ru2 zhao1 lu4] /precarious as the morning dew (idiom); fig. ephemeral and precarious nature of human existence/