悠悠天宇旷

悠悠天宇曠

yōuyōutiānyǔkuàng

phrase

Meanings

1 the heavens are vast and boundless
2 (fig.) evokes a feeling of cosmic immensity and solitude
3 (lit.) far-far the sky-vault is vast

Characters

distant / leisurely

distant (悠悠 = far and wide)

firmament (天宇 = the heavens)

vast / boundless

Examples

站在高原上，悠悠天宇旷，人一下子觉得自己很渺小。

Zhàn zài gāoyuán shàng, yōuyōu tiānyǔ kuàng, rén yīxiàzi juéde zìjǐ hěn miǎoxiǎo.

Standing on the plateau, 'the heavens stretching far and vast,' one suddenly feels how small one is.

他独自望着星空，竟有悠悠天宇旷的寂寥之感。

Tā dúzì wàngzhe xīngkōng, jìng yǒu yōuyōu tiānyǔ kuàng de jìliáo zhī gǎn.

Gazing alone at the starry sky, he felt the lonely emptiness of 'the boundless heavens stretching on.'

Tips

history

From 张九龄《西江夜行》(Zhang Jiuling, 'Night Journey on the Western River,' early Tang): 悠悠天宇旷，切切故乡情 (Far and wide the heavens stretch vast; keen and piercing, thoughts of home). Zhang Jiuling was a Tang minister and poet; the couplet contrasts the immensity of sky with the intensity of homesickness — the cosmic versus the personal.

usage

Almost always paired with its partner line 切切故乡情. The two lines together form the poem's most quoted couplet: sky-vastness outside, homesickness inside.

Stroke Order

悠 yōu

天 tiān

宇 yǔ

旷 kuàng