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Chinese/Dictionary entry

沉鱼落雁

chén yú luò yàn

Source form: 沈魚落雁 / 沉鱼落雁
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
variant of 沉魚落雁|沉鱼落雁[chén yú luò yàn]
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-6306a21795fb21ab. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

沈魚落雁 沉鱼落雁 [chen2 yu2 luo4 yan4] /variant of 沉魚落雁|沉鱼落雁[chen2 yu2 luo4 yan4]/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Source form: 沉魚落雁 / 沉鱼落雁
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. fish sink, goose alights (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuāng zǐ]) / fig. female beauty captivating even the birds and beasts
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-9776ef39bf8ee776. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

沉魚落雁 沉鱼落雁 [chen2 yu2 luo4 yan4] /lit. fish sink, goose alights (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuang1 zi3]); fig. female beauty captivating even the birds and beasts/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 沈魚落雁 / 沉魚落雁

  • 沉
    chén

    to submerge / to immerse / to sink / to keep down / to lower / to drop / deep / profound / heavy

  • 鱼
    yú

    fish (CL:條|条[tiáo],尾[wěi]) / used in the names of various aquatic animals that are not fish (including abalone 鮑魚|鲍鱼[bào yú], alligators and crocodiles 鱷魚|鳄鱼[è yú] and octopi 章魚|章鱼[zhāng yú])

    Yú

    surname Yu

  • 落
    là

    to leave out / to be missing / to leave behind or forget to bring / to lag or fall behind

    lào

    colloquial reading for 落[luò] in certain compounds

    luò

    to fall or drop / (of the sun) to set / (of a tide) to go out / to lower / to decline or sink / to lag or fall behind / to fall onto / to rest with / to get or receive / to write down / whereabouts / settlement

  • 雁
    yàn

    wild goose

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.