Hey guys. Been a while. I’m studying Chinese IRL, so I’ve got less reason to focus on the blog, but I have been getting all the letters – thank you all. I’ve also received two guest posts that I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t put up yet. Apologies, it may be a while, but they’re […]
撑着油纸伞，独自 彷徨在悠长，悠长 又寂寥的雨巷， 我希望逢着 一个丁香一样的 结着愁怨的姑娘。
她是有 丁香一样的颜色， 丁香一样的芬芳， 丁香一样的忧愁， 在雨中哀怨， 哀怨又彷徨；
她彷徨在这寂寥的雨巷， 撑着油纸伞 像我一样， 像我一样地 默默彳亍着， 冷漠，凄清，又惆怅。
她静默地走近 走近，又投出 太息一般的眼光， 她飘过 像梦一般的， 像梦一般的凄婉迷茫。
像梦中飘过 一枝丁香的， 我身旁飘过这女郎； 她静默地远了，远了， 到了颓圮的篱墙， 走尽这雨巷。
在雨的哀曲里， 消了她的颜色， 散了她的芬芳 消散了，甚至她的 太息般的眼光， 丁香般的惆怅。
撑着油纸伞，独自 彷徨在悠长，悠长 又寂寥的雨巷， 我希望飘过 一个丁香一样的 结着愁怨的姑娘。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 撑 | cheng | to support; to push or move with a pole; to open or unfurl; brace; support |
| 着 | zhāo | variant of 著|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add |
| 油纸 | yóu zhǐ | oilpaper |
| 伞 | sán | umbrella |
| 独自 | dú zì | alone |
| 彷 | pāng | used in 彷徨[pang2 huang2] and 彷徉[pang2 yang2] |
| 徨 | ||
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 悠 | you | long or drawn out; leisurely; pensive |
| 长 | cháng | long; (bound form) length; (bound form) strong point; forte; (bound form) to be good at; (literary) surplus; spare (Taiwan pr. [zhang4]) |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
| 寂 | jǐ | silent; Taiwan pr. [ji2] |
| 寥 | ||
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 雨 | yǔ | rain; CL:陣|阵[zhen4],場|场[chang2] |
| 巷 | xiǎng | lane |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 希 | xī | to hope; to admire; variant of 稀[xi1] |
| 望 | wàng | full moon; to hope; to expect; to visit; to gaze (into the distance); to look towards; towards; 15th day of month (lunar calendar); old variant of 望[wang4] |
| 逢 | féng | to meet by chance; to come across; (of a calendar event) to come along; (of an event) to fall on (a particular day); to fawn upon |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 丁 | Dīng | surname Ding |
| 香 | xiāng | fragrant; sweet smelling; aromatic; savory or appetizing; (to eat) with relish; (of sleep) sound; perfume or spice; joss or incense stick; CL:根[gen1] |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 样 | yàng | manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type |
| 结 | jiē | (of a plant) to produce (fruit or seeds); Taiwan pr. [jie2] |
| 愁 | chōu | to worry about |
| 怨 | yuǎn | to blame |
| 姑 | gū | paternal aunt; husband's sister; husband's mother (old); nun; for the time being (literary) |
| 娘 | niáng | mother; young lady; (coll.) effeminate; variant of 娘[niang2] |
| 她 | tā | she |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 颜色 | yán sè | color; countenance; appearance; facial expression; pigment; dyestuff |
| 芬 | ||
| 芳 | fang | fragrant |
| 忧 | you | to worry; worried; sorrow |
| 中 | Zhōng | (bound form) China; Chinese; surname Zhong |
| 哀 | ai | sad; sorrowful; grief; to mourn; to pity |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 像 | xiàng | to resemble; to be like; to look as if; such as; appearance; image; portrait; image under a mapping (math.) |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 默默 | mò mò | in silence; not speaking |
| 彳 | chì | step with the left foot (Kangxi radical 60); see also 彳亍[chi4 chu4] |
| 亍 | chù | to step with the right foot (used in 彳亍[chi4 chu4]) |
| 冷 | Lěng | surname Leng |
| 漠 | mǒ | desert |
| 凄 | qi | intense cold; dismal; bleak; mournful |
| 清 | Qīng | Qing (Wade-Giles: Ch'ing) dynasty of China (1644–1911); surname Qing |
| 惆 | ||
| 怅 | ||
| 静默 | jìng mò | silent; still; quiet; to mourn in silence; to observe silence; (neologism, attested by 2022) to stay at home during a pandemic |
| 走近 | zǒu jìn | to approach; to draw near to |
| 投 | tóu | to throw (sth in a specific direction: ball, javelin, grenade etc); to cast (a ballot); to cast (a glance, a shadow etc); to put in (money for investment, a coin to operate a slot … |
| 出 | chū | to go out; to come out; to arise; to occur; to produce; to yield; to go beyond; to exceed; (used after a verb to indicate an outward direction or a positive result); classifier for…; variant of 出[chu1] (classifier for plays or chapters of classical novels) |
| 太 | tài | highest; greatest; too (much); very; extremely |
| 息 | xī | breath; news; interest (on an investment or loan); to cease; to stop; to rest; Taiwan pr. [xi2] |
| 一般 | yī bān | same; ordinary; so-so; common; general; generally; in general |
| 眼光 | yǎn guāng | gaze; insight; foresight; vision; way of looking at things |
| 飘 | piāo | variant of 飄|飘[piao1]; to float (in the air); to flutter; to waft; complacent; frivolous; weak; shaky; wobbly |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 梦 | mèng | dream (CL:場|场[chang2]); (bound form) to dream |
| 婉 | ||
| 迷 | mī | to bewilder; fan; lost |
| 茫 | māng | vast, with no clear boundary; indistinct; confused |
| 梦中 | mèng zhōng | in a dream |
| 枝 | zhī | branch; classifier for sticks, rods, pencils etc |
| 身 | shēn | body; life; oneself; personally; one's morality and conduct; the main part of a structure or body; pregnant; classifier for sets of clothes: suit, twinset; Kangxi radical 158 |
| 旁 | páng | one side; other; different; lateral component of a Chinese character (such as 刂[dao1], 亻[ren2] etc) |
| 女郎 | nu:3 láng | young woman; maiden; girl; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 远 | yuǎn | far; distant; remote; (intensifier in a comparison) by far; much (lower etc) |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 到了 | dào liǎo | at last; finally; in the end |
| 颓 | ||
| 圮 | ||
| 篱 | ||
| 墙 | qiáng | variant of 牆|墙[qiang2]; wall (CL:面[mian4],堵[du3]); (slang) to block (a website) (usu. in the passive: 被牆|被墙[bei4 qiang2]) |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; away (in compound verbs, such as 撤走[che4 zou3]); to change (shape, form… |
| 尽 | jǐn | to the greatest extent; (when used before a noun of location) furthest or extreme; to be within the limits of; to give priority to; to use up; to exhaust; to end; to finish; to the utmost; exhausted; finished; to the limit (of sth); all; entirely |
| 曲 | Qū | surname Qu; variant of 麴|曲[qu1]; fermentation starter; leaven (molds, yeasts or bacteria used in fermenting soy products or brewing etc); Taiwan pr. [qu2] |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 消 | xiāo | to diminish; to subside; to consume; to reduce; to idle away (the time); (after 不[bu4] or 只[zhi3] or 何[he2] etc) to need; to require; to take |
| 散 | sàn | variant of 散[san4]; scattered; loose; to come loose; to fall apart; leisurely; powdered medicine |
| 甚至 | shèn zhì | even; so much so that |
| 般 | bān | sort; kind; class; way; manner |
Holding an oil paper umbrella, I pace through a long, long, and solitary rainy alley. I hope to come upon A girl like lilacs, Distressed and grudging.
She has The color of lilacs The scent of lilacs And a lilac’s concerns, Grudging in the rain, Resentful and hesitating.
She paces in the drizzling, desolate lane, Holding her oil paper umbrella, As I do, Just as I do, Soundlessly wending, Aloof, cheerless, and unhappy.
She walks quietly closer, Walks closer, casting A glance like a sigh, She floats past, As a dream does, As a dream does, indistinctly bittersweet.
Floats by as a dream does, A single lilac, The girl who floats past me, She is getting farther, farther, Reaches the toppled fence, Walks out of this drizzling alley.
In the rain’s plaintive song, Her color is washed away Her scent dissipates Washed out and dissipated, even her Sighing eyes Her lilac melancholy.
Holding an oil paper umbrella, I pace through a long, long, and desolate rainy alley. I hope to float by A girl like lilacs, Distressed and grudging.