Definition
漂洋过海 (piào yáng guò hǎi) is a four-character chengyu meaning 'to travel far across the ocean'. Literally it describes drifting (漂) across the ocean (洋) and crossing (过) the sea (海), but it is used figuratively for any long, difficult journey—often one undertaken for a significant purpose (love, work, study). Be aware the first character is pronounced piào (fourth tone), not piāo (first tone), even though the individual character 漂 is usually piāo (to float). This idiom appears in phrases like 漂洋过海来看你 (travel across the ocean just to see you).
v
to travel far across the ocean(figurative) to go on a difficultlong-distance journey
Examples
- 漂洋过海，。Tā piāo lái dào Zhōngguó liúxué, fēicháng bù róngyì.He crossed the ocean to study in China — it was really not easy.
- ，漂洋过海。Wèile jiàn tā yí miàn, tā piāo cóng Měiguó fēi lái le.In order to see her, he flew all the way from the United States across the ocean.
- 漂洋过海，。piāo jǐ shí nián hòu, tā zhōngyú huí dào le gùxiāng.After decades of travel across the oceans, he finally returned to his hometown.
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