我挥一挥衣袖

我揮一揮衣袖

wǒhuīyīhuīyīxiù

phrase

Meanings

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

Characters

to wave (挥一挥 = give a single wave)

Examples

辞职那天他笑着说，我挥一挥衣袖，不带走一片云彩。

Cízhí nà tiān tā xiàozhe shuō, wǒ huī yī huī yīxiù, bù dài zǒu yī piàn yúncǎi.

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

毕业离校，朋友引用我挥一挥衣袖表达洒脱。

Bìyè líxiào, péngyǒu yǐnyòng wǒ huī yī huī yīxiù 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》(Xu Zhimo, 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