DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

平步青雲

简平步青云 · 繁平步青雲

Mandarin · pinyin píng bù qīng yún

to rapidly go up in the world
meteoric rise (of a career, social position etc)

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

平: píng · flat, level, even; peaceful
步: bù · step, pace; walk, stroll
青: qīng · blue, green; young; Kangxi radical 174
雲: yún · clouds; Yunnan province
云: yún · say, speak; clouds

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2–4–1–2 · ping2 bu4 qing1 yun2

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character 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.

平步青雲 · find source passages ↗ · 平步青云 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ping4 bou6 cing1 wan4

Cantonese word readings for 平步青雲. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to rise through the ranks rapidly

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack