DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
翻手為雲覆手變雨
简 翻手为云覆手变雨 · 繁 翻手為雲覆手變雨Mandarin · pinyin fān shǒu wéi yún fù shǒu biàn yǔ
Meanings
- lit. turning his hand palm up he gathers the clouds, turning his hand palm down he turns them to rain
- very powerful and capable (idiom)
Characters in this entry
- 翻
- fān · flip over, upset, capsize
- 手
- shǒu · hand
- 為
- Look up this written character
- 雲
- yún · clouds; Yunnan province
- 覆
- fù · cover; tip over; return; reply
- 變
- Look up this written character
- 雨
- yǔ · rain; rainy; Kangxi radical 173
- 为
- wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be
- 云
- yún · say, speak; clouds
- 变
- biàn · change, transform, alter; rebel
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
1–3–2–2–4–3–4–3 · fan1 shou3 wei2 yun2 fu4 shou3 bian4 yu3
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
8character links
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.
翻手為雲覆手變雨 · find source passages ↗ · 翻手为云覆手变雨 · find source passages ↗