浮雲朝露 fúyún-zhāolù
Floating clouds and morning dewClouds disperse, dew evaporates—this chengyu is used to refer to something transient, often the passage of time or life:
Human life is like the floating clouds and morning dew; nothing lasts forever.Rénshēng rú fúyún-zhāolù, méiyǒu shénme shì yǒnghéng de.人生如浮雲朝露, 沒有什麼是永恆的。
危如朝露 wēirúzhāolù
Precarious as the morning dew
Since the morning dew evaporates at sunrise, this chengyu describes something fleeting, fragile, or approaching its demise. The literary expression is rarely used in daily conversation.
風餐露宿 fēngcān-lùsù
Eat in the wind and sleep in the dewThis chengyu implies the endurance of hardships, often an arduous journey or toiling in the fields.
He ate in the wind and slept in the dew, journeying forward day and night, finally reaching his destination in time.Tā yílùshang fēngcān-lùsù, rìyè-jiānchéng, zhōngyú ànshí dàodále mùdìdì.他一路上風餐露宿，日夜兼程，終於按時到達了目的地。
餐葩飲露 cānpā-yǐnlù
Dine on flowers and drink dew
Originally describing the lifestyle of immortals, this chengyu is often metaphor for a hermit’s seclusion.
Dew in spring and frost in autumnWhile spring dew typically symbolizes kindness in literature, the autumn frost is a metaphor for severity. Combined, they make an idiom that memorializes both the grace and authority of one’s ancestors.
霜露之思 shuānglùzhīsī
Remembrance of frost and dew
Carrying on the symbolism of dew and frost from the above, this chengyu describes the remembrance of one’s late parents or ancestors.
霜露之悲 shuānglùzhībēi
Grief of frost and dew
A variation of the chengyu above, this one replaces 「remembrance」 with 「grief,」 suggesting the somber remembrance of deceased forebears.
金風玉露 jīnfēng-yùlù
Gold wind and jade dew
In Chinese, 「金風」 (gold wind) usually refers to autumn wind. The scenery of autumn and jade-like dew paints the image of a beautiful yet fleeting time. In Chinese literature, this idiom often describes the brief and wondrous time that lovers spend together. As Song poet Qin Guan (秦觀) put it:
When Autumn’s Golden Wind embraces Dew of Jade,
All the love scenes on earth, however many, fade.
Jīnfēng-yùlù yì xiāngféng, biàn shèng què rénjiān wúshù.
金風玉露一相逢，便勝卻人間無數。
露水姻緣 lùshuǐ-yīnyuán
Drewdrop romance
This derogatory idiom refers to temporary, possibly illicit relations between a man and a woman.
Theirs was just a dewdrop relationship; it meant nothing.
Tāmen nà búguò shì lùshuǐ-yīnyuán, bú dàibiǎo shénme.
他們那不過是露水姻緣，不代表什麼。
露水夫妻 lùshuǐ-fūqī
Dewdrop couple
Accordingly, a 「dew husband and wife」 are not a legal couple, but illicit lovers.
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