Cheong-un-ji-ji

靑

푸를 청

雲

구름 운

之

갈 지

志

뜻 지

Character by character

Meaning

The ambition to rise to the blue clouds — high aspiration.

Origin

Widely known from Wang Bo’s Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng, on not letting hardship lower one’s aim.

How it is used

Used of someone starting study or work with a large ambition.

Hanja靑雲之志

Simplified青云之志

Korean reading청운지지

Pinyinqīng yún zhī zhì

Frequently asked questions

Q. What does Cheong-un-ji-ji mean?

靑雲之志 · The ambition to rise to the blue clouds — high aspiration.

Q. Where does Cheong-un-ji-ji come from?

Widely known from Wang Bo’s Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng, on not letting hardship lower one’s aim.

Q. How is Cheong-un-ji-ji used?

Used of someone starting study or work with a large ambition.

Idioms in the same group

刮目相對 Gwal-mok-sang-daeRub your eyes and look again — someone’s ability has grown astonishingly.敎學相長 Gyo-hak-sang-jangTeaching and learning grow each other.多多益善 Da-da-ik-seonThe more, the better.聞一知十 Mun-il-ji-sipHear one thing and know ten — exceptional quickness of mind.格物致知 Gyeong-mul-chi-jiInvestigate things to reach knowledge.學而時習 Hak-i-si-seupLearn, and practise it in due time.

The idioms used in Korea mix phrases from the Chinese classics with ones coined in Korea. Where an expression is not used in China, the entry says so.