故乡不可见

故鄉不可見

gùxiāng bùkě jiàn

quotation

Meanings

1 my homeland cannot be seen
2 classic expression of exile and homesickness - gazing toward home but finding only distance

HSK 7-9

在外打拼多年，故乡不可见，心里总是一阵空落。

Zàiwài dǎpīn duō nián, gùxiāng bùkě jiàn, xīnlǐ zǒngshì yīzhèn kōngluò.

After years of struggling far from home, the homeland is out of sight - always a wave of emptiness in the heart.

HSK 7-9

登楼远望，故乡不可见，只见长江东去。

Dēng lóu yuǎnwàng, gùxiāng bùkě jiàn, zhǐ jiàn Chángjiāng dōng qù.

Climbing the tower to gaze into the distance, I cannot see my homeland - only the Yangtze flowing east.

history

From 《晚次乐乡县》 by 陈子昂 (early Tang): 故乡杳无际，日暮且孤征……川原迷旧国，道路入边城. Variations on 故乡不可见 recur across Tang poetry as a stock nostalgia-on-the-road phrase.

usage

Pairs well with lines like 遥知兄弟登高处 (Wang Wei) - same genre of 望乡 (gazing-home) lament.

故 gù

乡 xiāng

不 bù

可 kě

见 jiàn