暧暧远人村

曖曖遠人村

àiàiyuǎnréncūn

phrase

Meanings

1 dim and faint, the distant villages of men
2 (fig.) the hazy, half-visible houses in the far distance of a peaceful pastoral scene
3 (lit.) dim-dim far human village

Characters

dim (暧暧 = faintly visible)

Examples

黄昏时站在山头，暧暧远人村，依依墟里烟，真是田园画面。

Huánghūn shí zhàn zài shāntóu, ài ài yuǎn rén cūn, yīyī xū lǐ yān, zhēn shì tiányuán huàmiàn.

Standing on the hilltop at dusk, 'dim distant villages, smoke lingering over the homesteads' — a true pastoral scene.

云雾中隐约可见暧暧远人村。

Yúnwù zhōng yǐnyuē kějiàn ài ài yuǎn rén cūn.

Through the mist one can just make out 'dim distant villages.'

Tips

history

From 陶渊明《归园田居》其一 (Tao Yuanming, 'Return to the Fields and Garden,' no. 1, Eastern Jin, c. 405 CE): 方宅十余亩，草屋八九间。榆柳荫后檐，桃李罗堂前。暧暧远人村，依依墟里烟。狗吠深巷中，鸡鸣桑树颠 (My homestead has a dozen mu, eight or nine thatched rooms. Elms and willows shade the back eaves; peach and plum rank before the hall. Dim, dim the distant villages; lingering, lingering the hamlet smoke. A dog barks deep in the lane; a rooster crows on the mulberry's top). The archetypal Chinese pastoral retreat poem.

usage

Reading: 暧 = ài ('dim / obscure'); 暧暧 = 'indistinct, shadowy.' (Do not confuse with 嗳/暧昧.) Always paired with 依依墟里烟. Used to evoke misty pastoral landscapes.

Stroke Order

暧 ài

远 yuǎn

人 rén

村 cūn