Situations
千載一遇
천재일우
qiān zǎi yī yù
Cheon-jae-il-u
千
일천 천
載
실을 재
一
한 일
遇
만날 우
Character by character
Meaning
One meeting in a thousand years — a chance that scarcely comes.
Origin
Yuan Hong of the Eastern Jin used the phrase for the rare meeting of a fine ruler and a fine minister.
How it is used
Said of an opening unlikely to appear again.
Hanja千載一遇
Simplified千载一遇
Korean reading천재일우
Pinyinqiān zǎi yī yù
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does Cheon-jae-il-u mean?
千載一遇 · One meeting in a thousand years — a chance that scarcely comes.
Q. Where does Cheon-jae-il-u come from?
Yuan Hong of the Eastern Jin used the phrase for the rare meeting of a fine ruler and a fine minister.
Q. How is Cheon-jae-il-u used?
Said of an opening unlikely to appear again.
Idioms in the same group
四面楚歌 Sa-myeon-cho-gaChu songs on all four sides — surrounded with nowhere to turn.進退兩難 Jin-toe-yang-nanHard to advance and hard to retreat.累卵之危 Nu-ran-ji-wiAs precarious as a stack of eggs.風前燈火 Pung-jeon-deung-hwaA lamp flame before the wind — an extremely precarious state.五里霧中 O-ri-mu-jungInside a fog five li deep — completely unable to make sense of things.雪上加霜 Seol-sang-ga-sangFrost on top of snow — one misfortune stacked on another.
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.