# 否极泰来

pǐ jí tài lái

Hardship gives way to better fortune

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Adversity reaches its limit and ease comes

**Traditional Chinese:** 否極泰來

**Register:** Hopeful · literary

[Change & possibility](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/change)

## When to use it

Offer hope after a period of difficulty.

Hopeful saying, not a guarantee of automatic change.

## Understanding the expression

The phrase imagines an extreme low turning toward a better state. Modern speakers use it to celebrate recovery after hardship or reassure someone facing a long difficult period. It carries optimism and a sense of change in fortune. The turning point may come from effort, help, or altered conditions. It should not promise that suffering alone guarantees improvement, since many situations still need practical action and support before the better phase can begin.

## Examples

找到工作后，她终于否极泰来。

### Traditional Chinese

找到工作後，她終於否極泰來。

zhǎo dào gōng zuò hòu ， tā zhōng yú pǐ jí tài lái 。

Finding a job finally brought better fortune.

几年困难之后，小店否极泰来。

### Traditional Chinese

幾年困難之後，小店否極泰來。

jǐ nián kùn nán zhī hòu ， xiǎo diàn pǐ jí tài lái 。

After difficult years, the shop's fortunes improved.

愿你否极泰来，重新顺利起来。

### Traditional Chinese

願你否極泰來，重新順利起來。

yuàn nǐ pǐ jí tài lái ， chóng xīn shùn lì qǐ lái 。

May your hardship turn toward better times.

治疗有效，让一家人觉得否极泰来。

### Traditional Chinese

治療有效，讓一家人覺得否極泰來。

zhì liáo yǒu xiào ， ràng yì jiā rén jué de pǐ jí tài lái 。

Effective treatment made the family feel fortune had turned.

## 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=%E5%90%A6%E6%A5%B5%E6%B3%B0%E4%BE%86)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=310&webMd=1&la=0)

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