上刀山，下油锅 in English shang4 dao1 shan1 , xia4 you2 guo1 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) to climb mountains of swords and enter cauldrons of boiling oil (idiomatic expression)
  • metaphorically to go through trials and tribulations

Simplified Characters

上 刀 山 ， 下 油 锅

Traditional Characters

上 刀 山 ， 下 油 鍋

Pinyin

shang4 dao1 shan1 , xia4 you2 guo1

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

上shang4see 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] 刀dao1surname Dao 山shan1surname Shan ， 下xia4down 油you2oil 锅guo1pot