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依依不舍

yī yī bù shě

reluctant to part

Character by character

依yī
clinging
依yī
clinging
不bù
not
舍shě
let go

Example

毕业那天,同学们依依不舍地告别。
On graduation day, the classmates said a reluctant goodbye.

Tone: neutral.

Usage and origin

For partings with people or places; 依依 is the clinging willow of the Book of Songs (杨柳依依).

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