魂牵梦萦

hún qiān mèng yíng

to long for something so much it fills your dreams

Character by character

魂hún
soul

牵qiān
tugged

梦mèng
dream

萦yíng
entwined

离开家乡三十年，村口那条小河仍是他魂牵梦萦的地方。

Thirty years after leaving home, the stream at the edge of his village still haunts his dreams.

Tone: neutral.

Usually 魂牵梦萦的 + 故乡／地方／人, or 让人魂牵梦萦. The variant 魂牵梦绕 is now just as common.

Learn this in Lesson 225 · HSK 9+: 新诗一百年 (A century of modern poetry)

A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.