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HSK 4 Chinese reading practice

杞人忧天

qǐ rén yōu tiān

The Man Who Worried the Sky Would Fall

A man from Qi loses sleep over disasters that exist only in his imagination.

RECOMMENDEDHSK 4
READ4 min
HANZI298
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文化
CULTURE

What does 杞人忧天 mean today?

杞人忧天 comes from the Tian Rui chapter of Liezi. It describes groundless or unnecessary anxiety—worrying intensely about something that is very unlikely to happen.

Key vocabulary9 words from this story
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Check your understanding

Answer three questions without looking at the English translation.

01杞国人最担心什么？
02这些担忧怎样影响了他的生活？
03听完朋友的解释以后，他怎样了？
0 / 3questions answered
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Chinese idiom guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about 杞人忧天

What does 杞人忧天 mean in English?

杞人忧天 (qǐ rén yōu tiān) literally means “the man of Qi worries that the sky will fall.” It describes groundless or unnecessary anxiety about an unlikely disaster.

When is 杞人忧天 used?

Use 杞人忧天 (qǐ rén yōu tiān) when someone worries intensely without a reasonable basis for the fear. For example: The system had three working backups, so his fear that one broken laptop would erase everything was 杞人忧天.

What is the pinyin for 杞人忧天?

The pinyin pronunciation for 杞人忧天 is “qǐ rén yōu tiān.”