水涨船高

*The explanations on this page are generated by AI. Please note that they may contain inaccurate information.

1. Basic Information

Pinyin: shuǐ zhǎng chuán gāo
English Translation: When the water rises, the boat floats higher (all boats rise with the tide)
Idiom Composition: 「水」（Water (representing the foundation or environmental conditions)）＋「涨」（To rise or swell (referring to the increase in the base level)）＋「船」（Boat (representing the person or object dependent on the foundation)）＋「高」（High (referring to the resulting elevation or improvement)）
Meaning: Just as a boat naturally rises with the water level, this idiom describes how things like status, prices, or living standards naturally improve or increase as their underlying foundation or environment improves.

2. Detailed Meaning and Nuances

「水涨船高」 contains the following nuances:

Emphasis on Causality: The idiom emphasizes a natural cause-and-effect relationship where the 'water' (the cause) dictates the level of the 'boat' (the effect). It implies that the change happens automatically rather than through direct effort on the 'boat' itself.
Positive or Neutral Correlation: While usually positive (improvement, promotion), it can be neutral or slightly negative in contexts like inflation, where prices 'rise along with' costs, implying an unavoidable increase.

3. Usage

「水涨船高」 is mainly used in the following contexts:

Economy and Living Standards: The most common context, used to describe how salaries or quality of life improve alongside general economic development.
- Example:「随着公司业绩的提升，员工的福利待遇也水涨船高。」
  （As the company's performance improved, the employees' benefits naturally increased.）
Prices and Market Trends: Used when the cost of a final product increases because the cost of its components or raw materials has gone up.
- Example:「原材料价格上涨，导致最终产品的售价也水涨船高。」
  （The rise in raw material costs caused the selling price of the final product to rise accordingly.）
Status and Reputation: Describes how an individual's prestige or value increases when the group or project they are associated with becomes successful.
- Example:「这部电影获奖后，几位主演的身价也随之水涨船高。」
  （After the movie won an award, the market value of the lead actors soared as a result.）

Additional Examples:

教育水平的提高，使得整个社会的文明程度水涨船高。
（The improvement in education levels has elevated the degree of civilization in society as a whole.）
由于进入门槛提高，这个行业的整体服务质量也水涨船高。
（Because the barrier to entry was raised, the overall service quality of this industry naturally improved.）
他在业界的威望越来越高，徒弟们的名气自然也水涨船高。
（As his prestige in the industry grew, his apprentices' fame rose along with it.）

4. Cultural Background and Notes

This idiom originates from the Song Dynasty Buddhist text, the Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp (景德传灯录). The original phrase was 'When the water rises, the boat is high; when there is much mud, the Buddha statue is large' (水涨船高，泥多佛大).
In its original Zen context, it was used to explain that as one's spiritual practice deepens, their level of enlightenment naturally reaches higher states. In modern usage, the religious meaning has faded, and it is now a standard logical expression for business, economics, and social phenomena.

5. Similar and Opposite Idioms

Similar Idioms:
Opposite Idioms:
- 每况愈下 (měi kuàng yù xià): To go from bad to worse; a steady decline in a situation.
- 一落千丈 (yī luò qiān zhàng): A literal drop of a thousand feet; a sudden and drastic decline in status, reputation, or value.
- 江河日下 (jiāng hé rì xià): Things are getting worse day by day.link
- 一成不变 (yī chéng bù biàn): To remain unchanged; to be set in one's ways.link

6. Summary

水涨船高 (shuǐ zhǎng chuán gāo) is used to explain a positive correlation where the improvement of a base condition (the 'water') leads to the automatic advancement of the things dependent on it (the 'boat'). It is a common way to describe how collective success benefits individuals or how economic growth elevates an entire society.