为伊消得人憔悴

為伊消得人憔悴

wèiyīxiāodérénqiáocuì

phrase

Meanings

1 for her sake, willing to waste away
2 for that one, gladly grow gaunt and haggard

Characters

for / for the sake of

she / that one (classical)

to waste / consume

willing / worth

haggard (in 憔悴)

worn (in 憔悴)

Examples

衣带渐宽终不悔，为伊消得人憔悴。

Yīdài jiàn kuān zhōng bù huǐ, wèi yī xiāodé rén qiáocuì.

My belt grows looser and I have no regrets — for her sake I'll let myself waste away.

他痴迷于书法，为伊消得人憔悴也甘心。

Tā chīmí yú shūfǎ, wèi yī xiāodé rén qiáocuì yě gānxīn.

He's obsessed with calligraphy — willing to waste away for its sake and glad of it.

Tips

history

From Liu Yong's 《蝶恋花·伫倚危楼风细细》 (Northern Song), paired with 衣带渐宽终不悔. 伊 (yī) is a classical pronoun meaning 'she / that person'. Wang Guowei's 《人间词话》 named this couplet the 'second realm of scholarship' — the stage of single-minded devotion to a pursuit.

usage

消得 (xiāodé) is classical for '能受得 / 值得' — 'willing to endure'. Use the full couplet with 衣带渐宽终不悔; quoting half alone feels truncated.

Stroke Order

为 wèi

伊 yī

消 xiāo

得 dé

人 rén

憔 qiáo

悴 cuì