遮天蔽日
zhē tiān bì rì
blotting out the sky and sun
Character by character
遮zhē
cover
cover
天tiān
sky
sky
蔽bì
hide
hide
日rì
sun
sun
Example
森林里的大树遮天蔽日，白天走在里面也很暗。
The great trees of the forest blot out the sky, so it is dark inside even by day.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
Said of dust, smoke, swarms of insects and flocks of birds, and of a dense forest canopy: 遮天蔽日的大树. 蔽 is “to cover”, as in 隐蔽.
Learn this in Lesson 170 · HSK 7–9: 绿色长城 (The Green Great Wall)
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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