谢天谢地
xiètiānxièdì
The English phrase 'thank God' is translated into Chinese as 谢天谢地 (xiètiānxièdì).
谢天谢地 is used as an exclamation to express relief when a bad situation is avoided or a good outcome occurs.
Meaning: exclamation of gratitude or relief (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 谢 (to thank), 天 (heaven/sky), 谢 (to thank) and 地 (earth/ground).
How does it change in a sentence?
谢天谢地 functions as an adverbial or an exclamation and can be placed at the beginning or the end of a sentence to express relief about the following clause.
How do you pronounce it?
xiètiānxièdì
Did you know?
- The character 谢 is used here as a verb, but in other contexts it can mean 'to wither' or 'to fall off' when referring to flowers.
- While it translates to 'thank heaven and earth', the phrase is completely secular in modern Chinese and is not considered a religious invocation by most speakers.
- The phrase can be used with a tone of irony or sarcasm if someone is being overly dramatic about a very minor stroke of good luck.
Examples in context
- 感谢上苍的眷顾，我成功地度过了难关。Thanks to God's grace, I successfully overcame the difficulties.
- 终于找到了！谢天谢地！Finally found it! Thank heavens and thank earth!
- 谢天谢地，你终于来了。Xiètiānxièdì, nǐ zhōngyú lái le.Thank God, you finally arrived.
- 谢天谢地，考试通过了。Xiètiānxièdì, kǎoshì tōngguò le.Thank God, I passed the exam.
- 谢天谢地，没丢钱包。Xiètiānxièdì, méi diū qiánbāo.Thank God, I didn't lose my wallet.
Example conversation
Zihan and Zhiqiang are relieved after finding a lost set of keys.
- 梓涵 Zihan谢天谢地，钥匙在这里！Xiètiānxièdì, yàoshi zài zhèlǐ!Thank God, the keys are here!
- 志强 Zhiqiang我以为丢了。Wǒ yǐwéi diū le.I thought they were lost.
- 梓涵 Zihan志强，你吓死我了。Zhìqiáng, nǐ xià sǐ wǒ le.Zhiqiang, you scared me to death.
- 志强 Zhiqiang找到了就好。Zhǎodào le jiù hǎo.It's good that they were found.
