我挥一挥衣袖

我揮一揮衣袖

wǒ huī yī huī yīxiù

quotation

Meanings

1 I wave, just once, my sleeve
2 (fig.) depart lightly, carrying nothing and leaving nothing - the gesture of a serene farewell
3 I wave one-wave of sleeve

Characters

Examples

HSK 7-9

辞职那天他笑着说，我挥一挥衣袖，不带走一片云彩。

Cízhí nàtiān tā xiào zhe shuō, wǒhuīyīhuīyīxiù, bùdàizǒuyīpiànyúncǎi.

On the day he resigned, he smiled and quoted 'I wave my sleeve once, carrying off not a wisp of cloud.'

HSK 7-9

毕业离校，朋友引用我挥一挥衣袖表达洒脱。

Bìyè líxiào, péngyǒu yǐnyòng wǒhuīyīhuīyīxiù biǎodá sǎtuō.

Leaving school after graduation, his friend cited 'I wave my sleeve just once' to convey a breezy departure.

Tips

history

From 徐志摩《再别康桥》 (Second Farewell to Cambridge, 1928) - one of the most celebrated modern Chinese poems. The closing stanza: 悄悄的我走了，正如我悄悄的来；我挥一挥衣袖，不带走一片云彩 (Softly I am leaving, just as softly I came; I wave, just once, my sleeve - and carry off not a wisp of cloud). Written on a return voyage from England after a revisit to King's College, Cambridge. Xu died three years later in a plane crash, lending the gesture retrospective poignancy.

usage

Modern baihua poetry, not classical - but Xu Zhimo is quoted with classical reverence. Always paired with the closing 不带走一片云彩 ('carry off not a wisp of cloud'). The doubled verb 挥一挥 ('give a single wave') is a soft, tentative reduplication.

Stroke Order

我 wǒ

挥 huī

一 yī

衣 yī

袖 xiù