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依依不舍 (yī yī bù shě) — to be reluctant to part; to feel heartbroken at having to leave

Definition

A chengyu describing the lingering sadness of parting — usually about people, places, or times one is attached to. Nearly interchangeable with 恋恋不舍, but 依依不舍 leans more toward tender, emotional reluctance.

phrase
to be reluctant to partto feel heartbroken at having to leave

Examples

  • ，依依不舍。
    Bì yè nà tiān, tóng xué men dōu yī yī bù shě dì gào bié.
    On graduation day, all the classmates bid farewell reluctantly.
  • ，依依不舍，。
    Lí kāi jiā xiāng shí, tā yī yī bù shě, yí bù sān huí tóu.
    When leaving his hometown, he was reluctant to part, turning back every few steps.
  • ，依依不舍。
    Lǚ xíng jié shù, wǒ men dōu duì zhè zuò chéng shì gǎn dào yī yī bù shě.
    When the trip ended, we all felt reluctant to leave this city.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénhuman
Sound part声符shēngfú
衣
衣yī依yī
Same sound today

依 is made from 亻, a person, plus 衣, which gives its sound.

Open 依 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénhuman
Sound part声符shēngfú
衣
衣yī依yī
Same sound today

依 is made from 亻, a person, plus 衣, which gives its sound.

Open 依 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú舍shè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

舍 is 余 plus 口. 余 was the original picture for this word, and 口 was later added to distinguish it.

Open 舍 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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