JLPT N1Four-character idioms
驚天動地
- Meaning
- 世間を驚かせるほど大きな事件や出来事のこと
- Explanation
- "驚天動地", from the hyperbolic expression of startling the heavens and shaking the earth, refers to an event or incident so great that it astonishes the world. It is used to describe a major incident that shakes society or an epoch-making discovery. c2 is the error of reading it literally as a great earthquake; the point is that, rather than a natural phenomenon, it is a metaphor expressing the magnitude of an event that astonishes people.
Original Japanese explanation
「驚天動地」は、天を驚かせ地を動かすという誇張表現から、世間を非常に驚かせるほど大きな事件や出来事をいう。社会を揺るがす大事件や画期的な発見を形容する場面で使う。c2 は字面どおり大地震と解した誤りで、本来は自然現象ではなく人々を驚かす出来事の大きさを表す比喩である点が要点。
Quick check
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