柳 暗 花 明

liǔ àn huā míngdictionary entry

lit. the willow trees make the shade, the flowers give the light (idiom) / at one's darkest hour, a glimmer of hope / light at the end of the tunnel

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-74806b4b86ed606a. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

柳暗花明 柳暗花明 [liu3 an4 hua1 ming2] /lit. the willow trees make the shade, the flowers give the light (idiom); at one's darkest hour, a glimmer of hope/light at the end of the tunnel/

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.

柳
liǔ
willow
Liǔ
surname Liu
暗
àn
dark / to turn dark / secret / hidden / (literary) confused / ignorant / (literary) to close (a door) / to eclipse / confused / ignorant (variant of 暗[àn]) / dark (variant of 暗[àn])
花
huā
flower / blossom / CL:朵[duǒ],支[zhī],束[shù],把[bǎ],盆[pén],簇[cù] / fancy pattern / florid / to spend (money, time) / (coll.) lecherous / lustful / also pr. [wěi]
Huā
surname Hua
明
míng
bright / opposite: dark 暗[àn] / (of meaning) clear / to understand / next / public or open / wise / generic term for a sacrifice to the gods
Míng
Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) / surname Ming / Ming (c. 2000 BC), fourth of the legendary Flame Emperors, 炎帝[Yán dì] descended from Shennong 神農|神农[Shén nóng] Farmer God

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.