雕梁画栋
diāo liáng huà dòng
carved beams and painted rafters; richly decorated buildings
Character by character
雕diāo
carved
carved
梁liáng
beams
beams
画huà
painted
painted
栋dòng
ridgepoles
ridgepoles
Example
这座老房子雕梁画栋，一看就是当年的大户人家。
The old house is all carved beams and painted rafters; you can tell at once it belonged to a wealthy family.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
A written, descriptive phrase for the ornate timber halls of palaces, temples and rich houses, often paired with 金碧辉煌 or 古色古香.
Learn this in Lesson 117 · HSK 7–9: 中轴线申遗成功 (Culture news: Beijing’s Central Axis joins the World Heritage list)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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