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萍水相逢 (píng shuǐ xiāng féng) — (idiom) to meet by chance like drifting duckweed; a fortuitous encounter between strangers

Definition

Literary chengyu for strangers who meet by chance — a fleeting, casual encounter with no prior relationship. Carries a touch of romantic fate; not for planned meetings or repeated contact.

idiom
to meet by chance like drifting duckweeda fortuitous encounter between strangers

Examples

  • 萍水相逢，。
    Wǒ men suī rán zhǐ shì píng shuǐ xiāng féng, dàn nà cì tán huà ràng wǒ yìn xiàng shēn kè.
    Although we only met by chance, that conversation left a deep impression on me.
  • ，萍水相逢，。
    Zài huǒ chē shàng, wǒ hé yí wèi lǎo rén píng shuǐ xiāng féng, liáo le yí lù.
    On the train, I met an old man by chance and we chatted the whole way.
  • 萍水相逢，。
    píng shuǐ xiāng féng De yuán fèn, yǒu shí bǐ zhāo xī xiāng chǔ gèng lìng rén zhēn xī.
    The fate of a chance encounter is sometimes more cherished than daily companionship.

Origin

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

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

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →

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chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
夆
夆páng逢féng
Same sound today

In 逢, 辶 is the walking part and 夆 is the sound part.

Open 逢 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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