林黛玉

Lín Dàiyù

proper noun

Meanings

1 Lin Daiyu, female lead of 《红楼梦》 ('Dream of the Red Chamber')
2 Jia Baoyu's orphaned cousin, archetype of the frail poet-heroine

Characters

forest; surname Lin

dark-blue eyebrow pigment

Examples

HSK 4

林黛玉是贾宝玉的表妹。

Lín Dàiyù shì Jiǎ Bǎoyù de biǎomèi.

Lin Daiyu is Jia Baoyu's younger cousin on his mother's side.

HSK 7-9

林黛玉葬花是经典场景。

Lín Dàiyù zàng huā shì jīngdiǎn chǎngjǐng.

'Daiyu burying flowers' is a classic scene.

Tips

culture

In Cao Xueqin's cosmology, Daiyu is a crimson pearl plant 绛珠仙草 come to earth to 'repay' Baoyu's watering with a lifetime of tears. She writes some of the novel's most famous poems - 《葬花吟》 ('Song of Burying Flowers') remains a staple of Chinese literature anthologies.

usage

林黛玉式 has become shorthand in modern Chinese for a hyper-sensitive, easily-offended personality: 别那么林黛玉 - 'stop being so Daiyu about it'.

Stroke Order

林 lín

黛 dài

玉 yù