如履薄冰
- Literal
- as if treading on thin ice
- Figurative
- To tread with fear and caution in a precarious situation where one false step could cost dearly; unlike 小心翼翼, the stress is on the danger itself.
Where does 如履薄冰 come from?
It comes from the Book of Songs (Shijing), from the poem "Xiao Min," a lament over the bad counsel the king follows. Its closing lines say that people know not to fight a tiger bare-handed or wade across a river, but they fail to see the other dangers, and so one must go fearful and alert, "as if on the edge of a deep abyss, as if treading on thin ice." Centuries later, the Analects put these lines in the mouth of Zengzi, a disciple of Confucius, when he was gravely ill. Today it is used for any situation in which a mistake could prove very costly.
Source (出处): 《诗经·小雅·小旻》
How is 如履薄冰 used? Two examples
- 刚接手这个烂摊子，他每做一个决定都如履薄冰。
He has just taken over this mess, and every decision he makes feels like walking on thin ice.
- 婆媳关系一直很紧张，她在婆家说每句话都如履薄冰。
Things with her mother-in-law have always been tense, so at her in-laws' she weighs every word as if treading on thin ice.
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