谢天谢地
xiètiānxièdì
In Mandarin, 'thank goodness' is 谢天谢地 (xiètiānxièdì).
谢天谢地 is used to express relief when a bad situation is avoided or a good one occurs unexpectedly. You can also use 幸亏 to mean 'thank goodness' or 'fortunately', while the informal expression 幸好 also indicates a sense of relief or gratitude. The phrase 感谢上帝 means 'thank God' and is often used by Mandarin speakers influenced by Western culture or religious perspectives.
Meaning: express gratitude (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 谢天谢地 is composed of 谢 (to thank), 天 (heaven/sky), 谢 (to thank) and 地 (earth/ground).
How do you pronounce it?
xiètiānxièdì
Did you know?
- If you use 感谢上帝 instead of 谢天谢地, you are signaling a very specific, often Westernized or Christian, cultural identity.
- The character 谢 in 谢天谢地 is a 'phono-semantic compound', where one part provides the meaning of 'thanks' and the other suggests the pronunciation.
- Although 谢天谢地 uses 'heaven' and 'earth', it is used by people of all beliefs, including atheists, as a secular expression of relief.
Examples in context
- 幸亏你及时赶到，不然我就迟到了Thank goodness you arrived on time, otherwise I would have been late
- 这次考试终于顺利通过了，谢天谢地I finally passed the exam. Thank goodness!
- 感谢上帝，我在事故中平安无事Thank God, I am safe after the accident
- 考试延期了，太好了！The exam got postponed. Thank goodness!
- 幸好我赶上了这趟火车Thank goodness I caught this train
- 谢天谢地，你没受伤。Xiètiān-xièdì, nǐ méi shòushāng.Thank goodness, you aren't injured.
- 谢天谢地，考试终于结束了。Xiètiān-xièdì, kǎoshì zhōngyú jiéshù le.Thank goodness, the exams are finally over.
- 谢天谢地，今天没下雨。Xiètiān-xièdì, jīntiān méi xiàyǔ.Thank goodness, it didn't rain today.
Example conversation
Two friends are walking home after a sudden storm.
- 雨婷 Yuting谢天谢地，雨停了。Xiètiān-xièdì, yǔ tíng le.Thank goodness, the rain has stopped.
- 浩然 Haoran是啊，不然我们就淋湿了。Shì a, bùrán wǒmen jiù líshī le.Yes, otherwise we would have been soaked.
- 雨婷 Yuting浩然，我们快回家吧。Hàorán, wǒmen kuài huí jiā ba.Haoran, let's get home quickly.
- 浩然 Haoran好，雨婷，我们走。Hǎo, Yǔtíng, wǒmen zǒu.Okay, Yuting, let's go.
