流连忘返 (liú lián wàng fǎn) — to linger so long that one forgets to leave (idiom); to be completely absorbed in a pleasant experience

Definition

An idiom for being so enchanted by a place or experience that you forget to leave. Used for scenery, performances, or any absorbing setting.

verb
to linger so long that one forgets to leave (idiom)to be completely absorbed in a pleasant experience

Examples

  • 。
    Guì lín de shān shuǐ ràng rén liú lián wàng fǎn.
    The landscape of Guilin makes people linger and forget to leave.
  • 流连忘返，。
    Tā zài yīn yuè tīng lǐ liú lián wàng fǎn, chà diǎn cuò guò le zuì hòu yì bān chē.
    He lingered in the concert hall, almost missing the last bus.
  • ，流连忘返。
    Zhè jiā shū diàn huán jìng yōu yǎ, měi cì lái dōu ràng wǒ liú lián wàng fǎn.
    This bookstore has an elegant atmosphere; every time I come it makes me linger and forget to leave.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

流连linger
流liúflow连liánconnect
联合Side by side
忘返forget to return
忘wàngforget返fǎnreturn
动宾Verb + object

The lingering in 流连 and the forgetting to return in 忘返 combine to mean being so absorbed one does not want to leave.

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
㐬
㐬㐬流liú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

流 has 水, water, and 㐬, which gives the sound. The water part matches meanings such as flow.

Open 流 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 連; 连 is its simplified writing.

  • 辶辵chuòto walk
  • 車車jūchariot

The traditional form 連 joins 辶 (walk) and 車 (chariot) to show a man-drawn carriage; this note is about 連, not the simplified 连.

Open 连 →

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
亡
亡wáng忘wàng
Same sound today

忘 combines 亡, which gives the sound, with 心 (“heart”), showing the sense is about the heart or mind.

Open 忘 →

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
辶Written in full as辵chuòmovement
Sound part声符shēngfú
反
反fǎn返fǎn
Same sound today

返 pairs 辶 (movement) with 反 (sound, with the sense of returning); the whole character originally meant coming back along the path one came from.

Open 返 →

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