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庭院深深深几许

庭院深深深幾許
tíngyuànshēnshēnshēnjǐxǔ
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 how deep, how deep is the courtyard?
  2. 2 evoking the loneliness and hidden life of an inner chamber
  3. 3 (lit.) courtyard deep, deep, how deep?

Examples

走进这座老宅，真有种庭院深深深几许的感觉。
Zǒujìn zhè zuò lǎozhái, zhēn yǒu zhǒng tíngyuàn shēnshēn shēn jǐxǔ de gǎnjué.
Stepping into the old mansion, you feel the line 'how deep, how deep is the courtyard.'
豪门内幕，庭院深深深几许，外人难以窥见。
Háomén nèimù, tíngyuàn shēnshēn shēn jǐxǔ, wàirén nányǐ kuījiàn.
The inner workings of great families are like deep, deep courtyards — outsiders rarely glimpse them.

Tips

history
Opening line of Ouyang Xiu's (欧阳修, Northern Song) 《蝶恋花·庭院深深深几许》: 庭院深深深几许？杨柳堆烟，帘幕无重数。(How deep, how deep is the courtyard? Willows piled like mist, curtains beyond counting.) A woman laments her absent lover behind layered courtyards. Li Qingzhao (李清照) loved the line so much she wrote several poems borrowing the phrase.
usage
The three repeated 深 characters (shēn shēn shēn) are deliberately incantatory — don't flatten them in reading. 几许 is classical for 'how much / how many' (≈ 多少).

Stroke Order

庭 tíng
院 yuàn
深 shēn
几 jǐ
许 xǔ