CYChengyu Dictionary

Chengyu meaning

风声鹤唳 (fēng shēng hè lì)

to be frightened by every sound after panic

Plain Answer

Source: Historical defeat-and-panic story tradition. Treated here as classical story; read it first as a sentence-level judgment.

Core meaning: 风声鹤唳 means to be frightened by every sound after panic: Used when fear after defeat, danger, or pressure makes people interpret ordinary sounds as threats.

Practice this meaningRead the story
Label
negative / written and story-aware Chinese
Best objects
post-failure anxiety, market anxiety, meaning boundary
Do not use when
Do not use 风声鹤唳 for a scene that only shares one surface word with the meaning. If the problem is closer to 草木皆兵 or the contrast points toward 胸有成竹, choose that nearby entry instead of stretching this one.

Use: Use 风声鹤唳 when the post-failure anxiety sentence shows the object, cause, and tone clearly. Avoid: Avoid 风声鹤唳 when the sentence only sounds related, lacks evidence, or needs a plainer word.

post-failure anxiety经历过失败后，他一听到批评就风声鹤唳。Jingli guo shibai hou, ta yi ting dao piping jiu feng sheng he li.After experiencing failure, he panicked at the first sound of criticism.

Next: Read the examples, then compare 草木皆兵 before practicing 风声鹤唳 in the focused quiz.

Often studied with: 草木皆兵, 杯弓蛇影, 插翅难飞

Read This First

风声鹤唳 is introduced here through a classical story tradition retold for modern learners; the source label is Historical defeat-and-panic story tradition, and the page separates that background from modern sentence choice.

风声鹤唳 means to be frightened by every sound after panic. The important first reading is Used when fear after defeat, danger, or pressure makes people interpret ordinary sounds as threats. This is a negative phrase in normal use, so the sentence must show the judgment clearly.

Use 风声鹤唳 when the object, cause, and tone match examples such as post-failure anxiety, market anxiety, meaning boundary; then compare 草木皆兵 and 杯弓蛇影 before writing your own sentence.

Avoid 风声鹤唳 when the sentence only shares a broad topic, when the tone would be unfair to the person being described, or when a plainer word would be clearer than a chengyu.

Start with this cue: post-failure anxiety plus a visible reason.

Meaning and Translation Notes

Used when fear after defeat, danger, or pressure makes people interpret ordinary sounds as threats.

Literal meaning

wind sounds and crane calls

  • 风声 / sound of wind
  • 鹤唳 / crane cries
  • ordinary sounds become frightening signals

English equivalents

  • be frightened by every sound plain

    Best for learner-safe explanation.

  • be in a state of panic near

    Good when the fear is general.

  • mistake ordinary signs for danger plain

    Useful for modern risk contexts.

How To Use It

Use 风声鹤唳 when the reader can see why to be frightened by every sound after panic is the exact judgment, not just the topic. A strong sentence names the actor, the thing being judged, and the evidence that makes this idiom more precise than an ordinary adjective.

  • Use it when fear makes ordinary signals feel dangerous.
  • It often appears after defeat, pressure, rumors, market shocks, or a previous bad experience.
  • The phrase is close to 草木皆兵, but the sound image gives it a sharper panic-after-alarm feeling.

Common Mistakes

Do not use 风声鹤唳 for a scene that only shares one surface word with the meaning. If the problem is closer to 草木皆兵 or the contrast points toward 胸有成竹, choose that nearby entry instead of stretching this one.

  • Do not use it for careful preparation or reasonable vigilance.
  • Do not use it for one visual mistake if 杯弓蛇影 explains the sentence more directly.

Wrong Use Clinic

The most useful check is often the phrase you should reject.

  1. The learner wants to sound more idiomatic but has only a broad topic match for 风声鹤唳.

    The sentence drops in 风声鹤唳 without showing the cause, object, or tone that would make the idiom necessary.

    Fix: Rewrite the sentence so the evidence for to be frightened by every sound after panic appears before or after the phrase.

    风声鹤唳 fails in this case because a chengyu is not decoration; it must name the exact judgment the sentence is making.

    Compare cao mu jie bing

  2. The learner wants to say the opposite or a neighboring idea and chooses 风声鹤唳 because it feels familiar.

    The sentence uses 风声鹤唳, but the described situation points to a different cause, time point, or social attitude.

    Fix: Compare the sentence with 胸有成竹 and choose the phrase whose boundary explains the situation with less force.

    风声鹤唳 becomes misleading when the nearby phrase would identify the real problem more cleanly.

    Compare xiong you cheng zhu

  3. The learner has the right meaning area for 风声鹤唳 but ignores register and emotional force.

    The sentence uses 风声鹤唳 directly about a person, yet gives no softening context or evidence for such a fearful, critical, or descriptive judgment.

    Fix: Add the observed behavior first, or choose 杯弓蛇影 if the sentence needs a gentler learning path.

    风声鹤唳 can sound heavier than a short English gloss. The reader needs enough context to see why the tone is fair.

    Compare bei gong she ying

  4. The learner remembers the origin image of 风声鹤唳 but applies it to the wrong object.

    The sentence names an image or story detail, but the real object being judged would be better explained by another chengyu.

    Fix: Name the object first. If the object points toward 洞若观火, use that contrast instead.

    风声鹤唳 should follow the judgment, not the most memorable image. Story memory is useful only when it supports the sentence-level decision.

    Compare dong ruo guan huo

Chengyu Often Studied Together

Use these clusters to build sentence-level judgment instead of memorizing a single gloss.

  1. 风声鹤唳 with nearby learner choices

    风声鹤唳 is often studied beside 草木皆兵 and 杯弓蛇影 because the words share a theme while asking the learner to judge a different cause, tone, or timing.

    老师先让学生解释风声鹤唳，再比较草木皆兵和杯弓蛇影，这样不会只凭英文近义词选答案。

    cao mu jie bingbei gong she ying

  2. 风声鹤唳 with contrast checks

    风声鹤唳 becomes easier to use when it is contrasted with 插翅难飞 and 胸有成竹; the contrast forces the writer to decide whether the sentence is praise, warning, correction, or neutral description.

    写作练习里先用风声鹤唳造句，再换成插翅难飞，观察判断方向怎样改变。

    cha chi nan feixiong you cheng zhucao mu jie bing

  3. 风声鹤唳 in example-building drills

    风声鹤唳 should be practiced with 草木皆兵 and 插翅难飞 because examples reveal whether the learner is choosing by meaning, tone, or only by a remembered image.

    课堂上先用风声鹤唳写一个有证据的句子，再换成草木皆兵或插翅难飞说明判断为什么改变。

    cao mu jie bingcha chi nan feibei gong she ying

  4. 风声鹤唳 in story and source review

    风声鹤唳 links best with 杯弓蛇影 and 胸有成竹 when the learner is checking whether a source image truly supports a modern sentence.

    复习出处时，不要只背风声鹤唳的故事，还要比较杯弓蛇影，看哪个成语更能解释现代句子。

    bei gong she yingxiong you cheng zhucao mu jie bing

Learner Guide

Use these notes when deciding whether this chengyu fits a real sentence.

Feng sheng he li belongs in sentences where prior fear makes small signs sound dangerous. It can describe a team after a failure, investors after a crash, or a person who hears every message as bad news. The phrase is critical or diagnostic rather than comforting.

Frightened by every sound is a clear learner translation. Jumpy at the slightest noise is more idiomatic. Panic at small signs is useful in business or analysis. Avoid a translation that blames someone for fear when the sentence is actually describing a real threat.

Compare it with cao mu jie bing and bei gong she ying. Cao mu jie bing is a whole landscape of panic. Bei gong she ying is one mistaken object or reflection. Feng sheng he li focuses on sounds and signals that trigger alarm after the mind is already frightened.

A strong example should show the earlier shock and the new trigger. A rumor after layoffs, a notification after a security incident, or a market tick after a collapse can all fit. If there is no prior fear, the phrase may feel too dramatic.

Before using 风声鹤唳, write the plain English idea first. If the plain sentence already says everything naturally, the chengyu must add a sharper judgment, cultural image, or tone. If it does not add one of those, leave the plain wording alone.

A good 风声鹤唳 sentence contains an object and evidence. The object is the person, plan, habit, result, or scene being judged. The evidence is the reason the phrase fits. Without both parts, the idiom may look learned but feel empty.

Compare 风声鹤唳 with 草木皆兵 and 胸有成竹 before finalizing a sentence. The goal is not to memorize synonyms; the goal is to reject the wrong phrase for a clear reason. That rejection is what turns recognition into usable knowledge.

When teaching or self-reviewing 风声鹤唳, ask the learner to mark source, meaning, use case, wrong case, and one example. If any mark is missing, return to the entry section that supplies it rather than guessing from the headword alone.

post-failure anxiety is the first test zone for 风声鹤唳, but it is not the only possible use. Before using the phrase, name the speaker, the object being judged, and the nearest tested context: post-failure anxiety, market anxiety, meaning boundary, usage boundary, misuse boundary, comparison check, context setup, teacher correction. Then choose among be frightened by every sound, be in a state of panic, mistake ordinary signs for danger as translation candidates and reject at least one candidate out loud. A useful final check is to compare the sentence with cao-mu-jie-bing and bei-gong-she-ying; if one of those nearby entries explains the situation with less strain, the nearby phrase is the better learner choice.

When 风声鹤唳 is translated as be frightened by every sound, the English should still preserve the phrase's tone. Keep fearful, critical, or descriptive and the caution use area visible when the audience is still learning the idiom. If a short translation hides the warning "Do not use it for careful preparation or reasonable vigilance.", choose a fuller English explanation instead. This matters because the strongest chengyu pages should help readers decide when not to use the most convenient English equivalent.

Example Sentences

Each example labels the situation so you can choose a natural English translation.

post-failure anxiety

经历过失败后，他一听到批评就风声鹤唳。

Jingli guo shibai hou, ta yi ting dao piping jiu feng sheng he li.

After experiencing failure, he panicked at the first sound of criticism.

market anxiety

股价小幅波动，不必风声鹤唳。

Gujia xiaofu bodong, bubi feng sheng he li.

A small stock-price movement is no reason to panic at every signal.

meaning boundary

风声鹤唳强调惊慌后的误听误判，不是正常警觉。

Feng sheng he li qiangdiao jinghuang hou de wuting wupan, bushi zhengchang jingjue.

风声鹤唳 emphasizes panic-driven mishearing and misjudgment, not normal alertness.

usage boundary

只有原因和语气都清楚时，这句话才适合用风声鹤唳。

zhi you yuan yin he yu qi dou qing chu shi zhe ju hua cai shi he yong feng sheng he li

Only use 风声鹤唳 when the cause and tone are both clear, not just because the topic feels nearby.

misuse boundary

如果只是普通情况，不要为了显得有文化而硬说风声鹤唳。

ru guo zhi shi pu tong qing kuang bu yao wei le xian de you wen hua er ying shuo feng sheng he li

If the situation is ordinary, do not force 风声鹤唳 just to make the sentence sound more cultured.

comparison check

比较近义成语以后，再决定这里是不是应该写风声鹤唳。

bi jiao jin yi cheng yu yi hou zai jue ding zhe li shi bu shi ying gai xie feng sheng he li

After comparing nearby chengyu, decide whether 风声鹤唳 is really the phrase the sentence needs.

context setup

这段话先说明对象和原因，所以风声鹤唳读起来不突兀。

zhe duan hua xian shuo ming dui xiang he yuan yin suo yi feng sheng he li du qi lai bu tu wu

The passage names the object and cause first, so 风声鹤唳 does not feel abrupt.

teacher correction

老师让学生先解释为什么不用别的词，再用风声鹤唳造句。

lao shi rang xue sheng xian jie shi wei shen me bu yong bie de ci zai yong feng sheng he li zao ju

The teacher asks students to explain why another phrase would be wrong before writing a sentence with 风声鹤唳.

Story and Cultural Context

风声鹤唳 is remembered through a military-panic image: after fright and defeat, even wind and crane calls sound like pursuing soldiers. The modern phrase keeps that psychology. The danger may no longer be present, but fear trains the ear to hear threat everywhere. English speakers should not use it for ordinary caution. It describes a mind or group already shaken, where harmless sounds become alarming because fear supplies the missing enemy. Feng sheng he li is a fear phrase, not a careful-risk phrase. The sound of wind and the cry of cranes become enough to trigger alarm because the hearer is already frightened. The image is often taught beside broader panic language such as cao mu jie bing, but this phrase is especially useful for sensitivity after shock. Modern Chinese can use it for markets, teams, rumors, security work, or personal anxiety when every signal feels threatening. English speakers should not use it for legitimate vigilance. The phrase points to fear that has started to misread ordinary signs. For this entry, the origin note is only the beginning of the explanation. The useful question is why 风声鹤唳 survived as a portable judgment rather than as a decorative allusion. The classical story route gives the reader an image, but the modern sentence must still prove its own fit. A learner should ask three things: what concrete object is being judged, what evidence in the sentence supports that judgment, and what tone the phrase adds that a plain English adjective would not add. This is why the page tests 风声鹤唳 through post-failure anxiety, market anxiety, meaning boundary, usage boundary, misuse boundary; each context changes the pressure on the phrase and shows whether the idiom is acting as praise, warning, neutral description, or criticism. The story or usage background also has a translation boundary. 风声鹤唳 can point toward be frightened by every sound, be in a state of panic, mistake ordinary signs for danger, but those English choices are not interchangeable. One version may preserve the image, another may sound natural in a classroom answer, and another may be safer in a workplace or essay sentence. The entry therefore treats public references as source cards, not as a paragraph order to imitate. Headword checks, story labels, and English equivalents are separated first; only after that are they rebuilt into the learner path used here: answer, label, examples, wrong-use clinic, comparison, story, and practice. The most common failure is overextension. Because 风声鹤唳 has a memorable surface, learners may reach for it whenever a topic feels close. The better habit is to compare it with 草木皆兵 and 杯弓蛇影 and with 胸有成竹 and 洞若观火 before writing. If the rejected phrase is hard to reject, the sentence probably has not supplied enough evidence. If the rejected phrase is easy to reject, the learner can explain the boundary and use 风声鹤唳 with confidence. That is the practical purpose of the origin section: it turns cultural memory into a sentence-level decision instead of leaving the reader with a story and no next action.

Learning point: After panic, even ordinary sounds can seem like pursuit.

Open the dedicated story page

Editorial Notes

These notes turn the entry into a decision path, not a loose definition.

First answer before details

风声鹤唳 should first be read as a decision about to be frightened by every sound after panic, not as a collectible story label. The classical story helps memory, but the reader's real task is to decide whether the modern sentence is making a negative judgment with enough evidence. Start with the object being described, then ask what happened, who is being judged, and whether the tone is fair. If those details are missing, the idiom will feel like learned decoration rather than useful Chinese. This first-answer rule also helps teachers and translators: they can explain the phrase quickly before deciding whether a longer story, comparison, or correction block is needed.

Example clinic

The examples for 风声鹤唳 deliberately cover post-failure anxiety, market anxiety, meaning boundary, usage boundary, misuse boundary because a learner needs more than one successful sentence before the phrase becomes usable. Read the Chinese sentence, then explain in plain English why this phrase is more precise than a simple adjective or loose translation. A strong example names the context, shows the evidence, and makes the tone visible. A weak example merely places the chengyu near a related topic. This habit prevents a common error: remembering the literal image but forgetting the social judgment carried by the phrase. When the example feels forced, return to the meaning line and choose a plainer wording.

Comparison boundary

Before using 风声鹤唳, compare it with 草木皆兵 and 杯弓蛇影 and, when possible, with 胸有成竹 and 洞若观火. The comparison is not a synonym game. Nearby chengyu often share effort, caution, wisdom, or evaluation as a topic, while differing in cause, timing, and emotional force. A good learner sentence can explain why the rejected phrase fails. If that explanation is impossible, the chosen idiom is probably too loose. This is also the cleanest internal-link reason: the next page exists because it helps the reader reject a tempting but wrong choice. The comparison should leave a reusable rule, not merely another link to click.

Wrong-use trigger

风声鹤唳 should be rejected when the sentence lacks an object, hides the reason for the judgment, or uses the idiom only because it sounds literary. The safest correction is to rewrite the sentence in plain English first, then add the chengyu only if it sharpens the meaning. If the tone becomes unfair, choose a gentler nearby phrase. If the source image is memorable but the modern object does not match, use the story only as background and do not force the idiom into the sentence. This wrong-use trigger is what keeps the entry from becoming a long but vague dictionary page.

Source synthesis note

风声鹤唳 uses public references as checkpoints rather than as a structure to copy. One source may help with the headword, another with a story or image, and another with English translation range. The page then rebuilds those checks into its own learner order: short answer, label, examples, misuse, collocation, guide, story, and practice. This matters because a single-source paraphrase would give readers a familiar-looking article but not a better learning tool. The editorial value here is the decision path: what to use, what not to use, what to compare, and how to test the phrase in a new sentence.

Practice This Decision

Answer a focused quiz question, then come back to the examples and misuse clinic if the near phrase feels tempting.

Start focused quizReview mistakes first