鹊桥相会
què qiáo xiāng huì
a rare meeting of lovers who live apart
Character by character
鹊què
magpie
magpie
桥qiáo
bridge
bridge
相xiāng
each other
each other
会huì
meet
meet
Example
小两口一个在北京，一个在深圳，每次见面都像鹊桥相会一样难得。
The young couple live in Beijing and Shenzhen, and every meeting is as rare as the lovers’ meeting on the magpie bridge.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
From the 七夕 legend. Said of couples or families who live apart and meet seldom, often half-joking; news reports also use it for long-separated relatives reunited. 鹊桥 on its own has come to mean a go-between: a 鹊桥会 is a matchmaking party.
Learn this in Lesson 41 · HSK 5–6: 元宵、七夕与重阳 (The smaller festivals)
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.
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