流连忘返

流連忘返

liúlián-wàngfǎn

idiom #49,481

Meanings

1 to linger, unable to tear oneself away
2 so enchanted that one forgets to go home

Characters

to connect; continuous

Examples

HSK 1

他在书店里流连忘返。

Tā zài shūdiàn lǐ liúliánwàngfǎn.

He lingered in the bookstore, forgetting to leave.

HSK 3

游客在古城流连忘返。

Yóukè zài gǔchéng liúliánwàngfǎn.

Tourists linger in the old town, unwilling to leave.

HSK 6

这里风景如画，令人流连忘返。

Zhèlǐ fēngjǐng rú huà, lìngrén liúliánwàngfǎn.

The scenery here is picturesque, you can't tear yourself away.

Tips

history

From 《孟子·梁惠王下》: going downstream and forgetting to return is 流, going upstream and forgetting is 连. Mencius used the pair to criticize rulers who lost themselves in pleasure; the modern idiom keeps the 'caught up and forgetting to go home' core but drops the moral edge.

Stroke Order

流 liú

连 lián

忘 wàng

返 fǎn