应运而生
yìng yùn ér shēng
to emerge in response to the times or to a need
Character by character
应yìng
answer
answer
运yùn
times
times
而ér
and
and
生shēng
be born
be born
Example
网上购物越来越普遍，各种快递公司也就应运而生。
As online shopping spread, courier firms of every kind sprang up to meet the need.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
运 is the turn of events, the needs of the day. Usual frame: 随着…，…应运而生, said of new trades, products, jobs and institutions, or of a new kind of worker (一批快递员应运而生). It once meant being born by the will of Heaven (旧指应天命而降生); today it never means a baby being born.
Learn this in Lesson 73 · HSK 6: 机器人与低空经济 (Robots, drones and the low-altitude economy)
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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