10 Beautiful Chinese Sayings About Love & Devotion

Childhood sweethearts or friends

Literal meaning: 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...

Everlasting; eternal

Literal meaning: 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...

Perfect mutual understanding; hearts in harmony

Literal meaning: Heart and heart mutually seal

This idiom describes hearts (心心) mutually (相) sealing or imprinting upon (印) each other. It comes from Chan (Zen) Buddhism describing the wordless transmission of understanding between master and disciple. The phrase evolved to describe perfect mutual understanding in any close relationship. Modern ...

Love at first sight

Literal meaning: One glance, feelings concentrate

This idiom describes at one (一) glance (见) feelings (情) concentrate (钟). It captures the experience of instant romantic attraction where love strikes at first sight. The phrase appeared in classical literature describing sudden, overwhelming romantic feelings. Modern usage describes love at first si...

Until the end of time; eternal love

Literal meaning: Seas dry, stones rot

This idiom describes seas (海) drying up (枯) and stones (石) rotting (烂). These are impossibilities that would take eternity - seas don't dry and stones don't rot. The phrase represents eternal commitment. Modern usage in romantic contexts expresses undying love, promises that will last until the impo...

Be inseparable; hate to part

Literal meaning: Hard to part, hard to leave

This idiom describes being hard (难) to part (分) and hard (难) to leave (舍). It depicts the pain of separation when attachment is strong. The doubled structure emphasizes the difficulty of saying goodbye. Modern usage describes the emotional difficulty of parting from loved ones, the reluctance to end...

Be deeply reluctant to leave

Literal meaning: Attached and unwilling to part

This idiom describes being attached (恋恋) and unwilling (不舍) to leave. Similar to 依依不舍 but with stronger emotional attachment through the character 恋 (love, attachment). Modern usage describes leaving places, people, or experiences one loves, the deep reluctance born from genuine attachment rather th...

Yearn day and night

Literal meaning: Soul pulled, dreams haunted

This idiom describes the soul (魂) being pulled (牵) and dreams (梦) being haunted (萦). It depicts longing so intense it occupies both waking and sleeping thoughts. The phrase captures obsessive yearning. Modern usage describes missing someone or something so deeply that thoughts of them pervade consci...

Think about constantly; yearn for

Literal meaning: Think in morning, yearn at night

This idiom describes thinking (思) in the morning (朝) and yearning (想) at night (暮). It depicts constant preoccupation from dawn to dusk. The phrase captures the experience of having someone or something always on one's mind. Modern usage describes intense longing that fills all hours, whether for ab...

Married couple with great mutual respect

Literal meaning: 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...