10 Romantic Chinese Idioms for Couples

Love extends to all connections

Literal: Love house and its crow

This tender expression describes how love (爱) for a house (屋) extends (及) even to the crow (乌) perched on its roof. Dating back to the Warring States period, it first appeared in texts discussing how affection naturally spreads to associated things. The crow, often considered an unremarkable bird, b...

Childhood sweethearts or friends

Literal: Green plums and bamboo horses

This nostalgic idiom pairs green plums (青梅) with bamboo horses (竹马), originating from Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai's verse about childhood playmates. It described children gathering plums while riding makeshift hobby horses crafted from bamboo—a common children's game in ancient China. The specific imag...

Match between families of similar social status

Literal: Door match household align

Tang Dynasty marriage arrangers first used this architectural metaphor of matching doors (门) and households (户) to describe suitable unions. Family genealogies document how door sizes literally reflected social status, making the metaphor particularly apt. Song Dynasty matchmakers developed it into ...

Everlasting; eternal

Literal: Heaven is long, earth is lasting

This idiom derives from Chapter 7 of the Daoist classic 'Tao Te Ching' (道德经) by Laozi: 'Heaven and earth are long-lasting.' The phrase uses the eternal nature of heaven (天) and earth (地) as metaphors for permanence and durability. It gained romantic connotations through Tang Dynasty poetry, particul...

Inseparable; always together

Literal: Body and shadow never separate

This idiom compares close companions to a person (形, form/body) and their shadow (影) that never (不) separate (离). The phrase originates from ancient Chinese poetry expressing the pain of loneliness, where one had only their shadow for company. It evolved to describe the most intimate of relationship...

Help each other in adversity

Literal: Moisten each other with foam

This idiom describes moistening each other (相濡) with foam (以沫). From Zhuangzi's parable of fish in a drying pond who keep each other alive by sharing their foam. Though Zhuangzi suggested freedom was better, the phrase came to represent devoted mutual support during hardship. Modern usage describes ...

Treat each other with respect

Literal: Respect each other like guests

This idiom describes respecting each other (相敬) like guests (如宾). It comes from Zuozhuan describing an ideal married couple who maintained the courtesy usually reserved for guests. The phrase depicts marriages where respect never fades into familiarity. Modern usage describes relationships, especial...

Married couple with great mutual respect

Literal: Raise tray level with eyebrows

This idiom describes raising (举) a food tray (案) level (齐) with one's eyebrows (眉). It comes from the story of Meng Guang who showed deep respect for her husband Liang Hong by always raising his food tray to eye level when serving him. Modern usage describes marriages characterized by deep mutual re...

Grow old together; lifelong partnership

Literal: White heads together in old age

This idiom describes white (白) heads (头) together (偕) in old age (老). It depicts couples who grow old together, their hair turning white side by side. The phrase is a common blessing at weddings. Modern usage expresses wishes for lasting marriages, the hope that couples will remain devoted until bot...

Instant friendship

Literal: Tilt hat like old friends

Dating to the Spring and Autumn period, this elegant idiom describes the instant rapport between kindred spirits, comparing it to tilting (倾) carriage covers (盖) while greeting as if (如) old (故) friends. The image comes from ancient Chinese road etiquette, where travelers would tilt their carriage c...