Chinese idiom · 成语
云泥之别
Meaning
Difference of cloud and mud; vast disparity.
Character by character
Origin and story
Literary expressionAn earlier cloud-and-mud comparison appears in the Book of the Later Han, in Jiao Shen's biography. Wu Cang writes to the recluse, contrasting their different ways of life through the images of traveling among clouds and walking through mud. He urges Jiao Shen to put his learning to use in government rather than remain hidden away; the biography says Jiao Shen did not answer.
The letter does not contain the exact four-character form 云泥之别. It provides an earlier literary use of the underlying contrast, later familiar in expressions of vast disparity. Clouds high above the ground and mud underfoot convey how far apart two situations, levels of ability, or social positions can be.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
修复前后的录音简直有云泥之别，现在连轻微的呼吸声都听得清楚。
The recording before and after restoration is worlds apart; now even faint breaths are clearly audible.
A strong comparison for an enormous difference in quality, ability, or circumstances.