DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

枯木逢春

Mandarin · pinyin kū mù féng chūn

lit. the spring comes upon a withered tree (idiom)
fig. to get a new lease on life
to be revived
(of a difficult situation) to suddenly improve

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

枯: kū · dried out, withered, decayed
木: mù · tree; wood, lumber; wooden
逢: féng · come upon, happen meet; flatter
春: chūn · spring; wanton

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–4–2–1 · ku1 mu4 feng2 chun1

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.

枯木逢春 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

fu1 muk6 fung4 ceon1

Cantonese word readings for 枯木逢春. 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 get a new lease of life in a desperate situation

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

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