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悲欢离合 (bēi huān lí hé) — the vicissitudes of life; joys and sorrows; partings and reunions (four-character idiom)

Definition

A four-character idiom meaning the ups and downs of life — sadness, joy, parting, reunion. Compared with 酸甜苦辣 (focused on life's flavors/tastes) and 喜怒哀乐 (the four emotions), 悲欢离合 emphasizes events of meeting and separation.

phrase
the vicissitudes of lifejoys and sorrowspartings and reunions (four-character idiom)

Examples

  • 悲欢离合。
    Rén shēng zhōng de bēi huān lí hé ràng rén chéng zhǎng.
    The vicissitudes of life make people grow.
  • 悲欢离合。
    Zhè bù diàn shì jù jiǎng shù le jiā zú de bēi huān lí hé.
    This TV drama tells the vicissitudes of a family.
  • 悲欢离合，。
    Jīng lì guò bēi huān lí hé, cái huì gèng dǒng de zhēn xī.
    Only after experiencing vicissitudes will you truly learn to cherish.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

悲欢
悲bēisorrow欢huānjoy
联合Coordinate
离合
离líparting合héreunion
联合Coordinate

悲 and 欢 are sorrows and joys; 离 and 合 are partings and reunions, describing life's changes.

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
心心xīnheart; thought; emotion
Sound part声符shēngfú
非
非fēi悲bēi
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

悲 pairs 非 as the sound part with 心, the heart/emotion part.

Open 悲 →

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 歡; 欢 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
欠欠qiàn
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn歡huān
Same sound today

The traditional form 歡 uses 雚 for the sound and 欠 for the meaning; the simplified 欢 is a later shorthand, so its parts do not carry that history.

Open 欢 →

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 離; 离 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
离
离lí離lí
Same sound today

The traditional form 離 pairs 隹, a bird, with the sound part 离; the simplified 离 is a shorthand. This form first wrote a black-naped oriole, and the sound was borrowed for 'leave'.

Open 离 →

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

合 shows 亼 and 口 arranged as two mouths speaking together.

Open 合 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.