聽tīng風fēng便biàn是shì雨yǔ

What does 聽風便是雨 (tīng fēng biàn shì yǔ) mean?

聽風便是雨 (tīng fēng biàn shì yǔ) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "hear wind and take it as rain." In use it means: Draw hasty conclusions from slight evidence; jump to conclusions. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Water note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Monkey.

Literally: "hear wind and take it as rain."

The reading

Wind and rain are related but they are not the same thing, and the ear that cannot tell them apart will carry an umbrella through endless dry days. What sounds like confirmation often sounds like confirmation because we were already listening for it. Sit with the evidence a little longer before deciding what it is.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeyànyǔ 諺語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element水 Water
• Zodiac tie猴 Year of the Monkey

Source Traditional Chinese folk proverb (yanyu)

Sits beside

Keep reading

Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Wisdom & Learning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Monkey, Year of the Frog, and Year of the Rat.