触景生情 (chù jǐng shēng qíng) — to be moved by what one sees; a scene evokes past emotions and memories

Definition

A four-character idiom: being moved to emotion by a scene one sees, often because it triggers memories of the past. Common in reflective, literary writing.

idiom
to be moved by what one seesa scene evokes past emotions and memories

Examples

  • ，触景生情，。
    Kàn dào lǎo zhào piàn, tā bù yóu de chù jǐng shēng qíng, xiǎng qǐ le tóng nián.
    Seeing the old photos, he couldn't help being moved by the scene and thought of his childhood.
  • ，触景生情，。
    Huí dào gù xiāng, chù jǐng shēng qíng, tā liú xià le yǎn lèi.
    Returning to her hometown, the sight stirred her emotions and she shed tears.
  • 触景生情。
    Zhè shǒu shī miáo xiě le zuò zhě chù jǐng shēng qíng de xīn qíng.
    This poem describes the author's feelings when moved by the scene.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 觸; 触 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
角角jiǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
蜀
蜀shǔ觸chù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 觸 uses 角 for the meaning and 蜀 for the sound; the simplified 触 is a later shorthand.

Open 触 →

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
日日rìsun
Sound part声符shēngfú
京
京jīng景jǐng
Same sound today

景 has 日 (sun) with 京, which gives its sound; it originally meant sunlight.

Open 景 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng情qíng
Same sound today

情 shows 心 (heart) beside 青, which gives the sound. The heart part points to feelings and inner states.

Open 情 →

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