從天而降

简 从天而降 · 繁 從天而降
Mandarin · pinyin cóng tiān ér jiàng

Meanings

  1. (idiom) to fall from the sky
  2. (idiom) (fig.) to appear unexpectedly; to drop into one's lap
Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

從
cóng · from, by, since, whence, through
天
tiān · sky, heaven; god, celestial
而
ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
降
jiàng · descend, fall, drop; lower, down
从
cóng · from, by, since, whence, through
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2–1–2–4 · cong2 tian1 er2 jiang4

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.

從天而降 · find source passages ↗ · 从天而降 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cung4 tin1 ji4 gong3

Cantonese word readings for 從天而降. 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

  1. (idiomatic) to happen all of a sudden; to happen out of the blue; to come out of nowhere

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

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

從天而降 · cong2 tian1 er2 jiang4
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 40,361
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record從天而降 从天而降 [cong2 tian1 er2 jiang4] /(idiom) to fall from the sky/(idiom) (fig.) to appear unexpectedly; to drop into one's lap/