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水涨船高

shuǐ zhǎng chuán gāo

HSK 7–9

Meaning

  • the tide rises, the boat floats (idiom); fig. to change with the overall trend
  • to develop according to the situation

Definition

水位上涨，船身也随之升高。比喻事物随着它所凭借的基础的提高而提高。

When the water rises, the boat rises. It means that things improve or increase along with the foundation or basis on which they rely.

Usage

常用于经济、物价、工资等领域，表示随着基础条件提升，相关事物也相应提高。

Often used in contexts like economy, prices, wages, indicating that as basic conditions improve, related things also rise accordingly.

Examples

  • 1 随着物价上涨，工资也跟着水涨船高。 (As prices rise, wages also increase accordingly.)
  • 2 公司的业绩好了，员工的奖金自然水涨船高。 (When the company's performance is good, employees' bonuses naturally rise.)
  • 3 房地产市场的火爆，使得房价水涨船高。 (The booming real estate market has caused housing prices to rise.)
  • 4 教育水平提高后，人们的素质也水涨船高。 (After the improvement of education level, people's quality also improves.)
  • 5 随着科技的发展，人们的生活质量水涨船高。 (With the development of technology, people's quality of life rises accordingly.)

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