翻手为云覆手变雨 in English fan1 shou3 wei2 yun2 fu4 shou3 bian4 yu3 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) turning his hand palm up he gathers the clouds, turning his hand palm down he turns them to rain
  • very powerful and capable (idiomatic expression)

Simplified Characters

翻 手 为 云 覆 手 变 雨

Traditional Characters

翻 手 為 雲 覆 手 變 雨

Pinyin

fan1 shou3 wei2 yun2 fu4 shou3 bian4 yu3

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

翻fan1to turn over 手shou3hand 为wei4as (in the capacity of) 云yun2(classical) to say 覆fu4variant of 復|复[fu4] 手shou3hand 变bian4to change 雨yu3rain