触景生情

Pronunciation: chù jǐng shēng qíng Literal meaning: Touching scenery produces feelings

Origin & Usage

A scene (景) touched (触) upon, and feeling (情) comes up (生) out of it. The order of the characters is the argument: the outside comes first and the emotion follows, so what is described is being ambushed by a place rather than deciding to remember one. That involuntariness is what separates it from nostalgia. Returning somewhere after a long absence, or coming across an object belonging to somebody dead; it is the standard explanation offered for an unexpected reaction.

Examples

English: "Returning to his childhood home stirred deep emotions within him."

Chinese: 回到儿时的家乡让他触景生情。