患难见人心

患难见人心

Literally means:

calamity is the touchstone of man

Actually means:

a friend is never known till a man has need

患难 refers to difficulty and calamity. The phrase means that only through difficulty, calamity or disaster can we find out whether a person is sincere to his friends. It is often used to show the speaker's feeling that he did not get help when he was in difficulty or at a dangerous moment.

患难，困难和灾祸。指只有在遇到困难、灾难或祸害时，才能看出一个人是否真心待人。通常用来表示在艰难或危难时刻得到或没有得到帮助的感受。