一面之缘

一面之緣
yīmiànzhīyuán
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 the fate of meeting just once
  2. 2 a single brief encounter

Examples

Wǒ hé tā zhǐyǒu yī miàn zhī yuán.
He and I have only met once.
Suī shuō zhǐ shì yī miàn zhī yuán, wǒ què yìnxiàng shēnkè.
Though we met only once, I remember it vividly.

Tips

history
Recorded in 《红楼梦》 chapter 1, where the magic stone is said to have "a one-meeting fate" with the protagonist. The phrase frames a single encounter as a predestined yuánfèn.
usage
Often used to downplay closeness: "I barely know them, we only had 一面之缘".

Stroke Order

miàn
zhī
yuán