# 海阔天空

hǎi kuò tiān kōng

Be wide-ranging and unconstrained

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** The sea is broad and the sky vast

**Traditional Chinese:** 海闊天空

**Register:** Expansive · general

[Perspective](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/perspective)

## When to use it

Describe open vistas, expansive thinking, or conversation covering many subjects.

For talk, it can suggest freedom or lack of focus.

## Understanding the expression

A broad sea beneath an immense sky offers a scene without close boundaries. The expression can describe that literal openness or extend it to conversation and imagination. Friends may talk freely about distant plans and unrelated subjects. In a critical setting, the same expansiveness can suggest ideas that lack practical limits. The surrounding verb helps: looking over scenery, chatting freely, and making unrealistic claims each give the phrase a different tone.

## Examples

我们坐在海边，海阔天空地聊了一下午。

### Traditional Chinese

我們坐在海邊，海闊天空地聊了一下午。

wǒ men zuò zài hǎi biān ， hǎi kuò tiān kōng dì liáo le yí xià wǔ 。

We sat by the sea and chatted about everything all afternoon.

出了峡谷，眼前顿时海阔天空。

### Traditional Chinese

出了峽谷，眼前頓時海闊天空。

chū le xiá gǔ ， yǎn qián dùn shí hǎi kuò tiān kōng 。

Leaving the gorge, we suddenly saw a wide open vista.

他海阔天空地谈未来，却没提预算。

### Traditional Chinese

他海闊天空地談未來，卻沒提預算。

tā hǎi kuò tiān kōng dì tán wèi lái ， què méi tí yù suàn 。

He spoke expansively about the future but never mentioned the budget.

朋友之间可以海阔天空，不必总谈工作。

### Traditional Chinese

朋友之間可以海闊天空，不必總談工作。

péng yǒu zhī jiān kě yǐ hǎi kuò tiān kōng ， bú bì zǒng tán gōng zuò 。

Friends can talk freely about anything instead of always discussing work.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E6%B5%B7%E9%97%8A%E5%A4%A9%E7%A9%BA)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=414&webMd=1&la=0)

## Keep exploring

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- [鹤立鸡群 hè lì jī qún Stand out conspicuously among others ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/he-li-ji-qun)

- [胡思乱想 hú sī luàn xiǎng Let thoughts wander into unfounded possibilities ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/hu-si-luan-xiang)

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