Learn Chinese with @cn-reader: 四面八方

One day, two thieves decided to go stealing things. But where should they steal? They were very worried about getting caught. So thief A said: Today is Sunday, let's go to the mall to steal things, there will be lots of people there. Thief B said: Good idea, it’s a crowded place and we won’t get caught stealing.

So, two thieves chose a crowded mall and split up for work. Thief A steals from the first floor while thief B steals from the second floor of the store. In this way, the two thieves each sought their own targets.

At this moment, thief A saw that a lot of people gather around the jewelry place. There was a man who looked very rich so he walked up to the man on purpose and tried to steal his wallet. Just as he was about to steal the wallet, a man suddenly shouted,” Catch the thief, catch the thief!” Thief A wanted to escape but he was surrounded with people from all corners. There was no way out, and he was caught.

From this story, the Chinese idiom 四面八方 means:

四面 four sides : East, South, West, North (all 4 directions)

八方Octagon: Southeast, southwest, northeast, northwest four directions.

四面八方： 周围各个方面或者各个方向 。

四面八方= all direction, everywhere.

例句：四面八方都是水，我们只能站在这里，不能去别的地方。

E.g.: There is water everywhere. We can only stand here and not go anywhere else.

Author: @sunflower666
Translator: @asianetwork