雪泥鸿爪
xuě ní hóng zhǎo
faint traces left by past events; marks of a life that soon fade
Character by character
雪xuě
snow
snow
泥ní
mud
mud
鸿hóng
wild goose
wild goose
爪zhǎo
claw
claw
Example
翻看这些旧照片，仿佛又看到了我们年轻时留下的雪泥鸿爪。
Looking through these old photos, I seem to see again the faint tracks we left when we were young.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
From a poem 苏轼 sent his brother in 1061: life is like a wild goose landing on snowy mud, leaving a few claw prints by chance before it flies off, east or west, without a care. Literary; a favourite title for memoirs and travel notes.
Learn this in Lesson 92 · HSK 6–7: 苏东坡的宋朝 (Su Dongpo’s Song dynasty)
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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