千钧一发

• Pinyin: qiān jūn yī fà
• Desglose de hanzi: 千 = 十 + 人 (thousand); 钧 = 钅(metal) + 匀 (even) (ancient weight unit); 一 = horizontal stroke (one); 发 = 癶 + 弓 + 殳 (hair/emit)

Significado

En un momento crítico; colgando de un hilo.

A four-character idiom from classical Chinese. 钧 is an ancient unit of weight (30 jin ≈ 15 kg); the image of 1,000 钧 suspended by a single hair evokes imminent catastrophe. Used in news, literature, and speech to dramatise moments of extreme crisis or narrow escape.

Ejemplos

1. 消防员在千钧一发之际将被困在三楼的老人成功救出，此时楼板已开始大面积坍塌。
2. 谈判代表在千钧一发的最后关头提出了新方案，双方才得以化解持续数月的外交僵局。
3. 飞行员凭借过硬的技术和冷静的判断，在千钧一发之际稳住了发动机故障的飞机，避免了一场惨烈空难。

Guía de uso

Contexto: emergency, crisis, rescue, diplomacy

Tono: urgent

Correcto

• 在千钧一发的危急时刻，特警队员毫不犹豫地冲入浓烟弥漫的建筑内，将最后一名人质安全救出。(At the most critical moment, hanging by a thread, the SWAT officers charged without hesitation into the smoke-filled building and safely rescued the last hostage.)
• 股市在千钧一发之际得到了国家队的强力介入，才避免了一场可能波及实体经济的系统性金融危机。(The stock market, at a perilous turning point, received powerful intervention from national-level funds, thereby averting a systemic financial crisis that could have rippled into the real economy.)

Incorrecto

• 这道题千钧一发地难 — 千钧一发 describes a moment of extreme danger or crisis, not degree of difficulty; use 难如登天/极其困难 for difficulty

Origen e historia

千 (thousand) + 钧 (ancient weight unit, ~15 kg) + 一 (one) + 发 (hair) — a thousand jun hanging by a single hair; extreme danger

Contexto cultural

Época: Classical origin, modern use

Generación: All ages

Contexto social: Universal