才饮长沙水

才飲長沙水

cáiyǐnChángshāshuǐ

phrase

Meanings

1 just drank the water of Changsha
2 having just arrived in one place before moving on to the next (from Mao's poem)

Characters

long (in 长沙 Changsha)

sand (in 长沙 Changsha)

Examples

我这趟出差真是才饮长沙水，又食武昌鱼，一天跑三个城市。

Wǒ zhè tàng chūchāi zhēnshi cái yǐn Chángshā shuǐ, yòu shí Wǔchāng yú, yī tiān pǎo sān gè chéngshì.

This business trip is like 'just drank Changsha water, now eating Wuchang fish' — three cities in one day.

他借才饮长沙水这句来形容自己行程紧凑。

Tā jiè cái yǐn Chángshā shuǐ zhè jù lái xíngróng zìjǐ xíngchéng jǐncòu.

He used the line 'just drank Changsha water' to describe his packed itinerary.

Tips

history

From 毛泽东 Mao Zedong 《水调歌头·游泳》 (1956): 才饮长沙水，又食武昌鱼 — 'just drank Changsha's water, now eating Wuchang fish.' Written as he swam the Yangtze at Wuhan, marking his travel from Hunan to Hubei.

usage

Only natural when quoted with 又食武昌鱼. 长沙 (Changsha) is the capital of Hunan province. The rhythm 才...又... is a classic Chinese construction for 'just... and already...'.

Stroke Order

才 cái

饮 yǐn

长 cháng

沙 shā

水 shuǐ