深山老林

shēnshān-lǎolín
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 deep mountains and old forests
  2. 2 remote wilderness; the backwoods

Examples

HSK 3
Tā zhù zài shēnshān-lǎolín lǐ, hěn shǎo jìnchéng.
He lives deep in the mountains and rarely comes to town.
HSK 4
Tāmen jìnrù shēnshān-lǎolín xúnzhǎo cǎoyào.
They went deep into the remote forests to search for medicinal herbs.
HSK 7-9
Shēnshān-lǎolín lǐ háiyǒu hěnduō zhēnxī dòngwù.
There are still many rare animals deep in the wilderness.

Tips

usage
Evokes untouched wilderness - old growth, no roads, no phone signal. Often paired with verbs of entering/hiding (钻进/躲进/藏在). Compare with 穷乡僻壤 (poor remote area) which stresses poverty and distance from civilization rather than dense forest.
memory
Parallel structure: 深山 (deep mountains) + 老林 (old forests). and both signal 'untouched, primeval' - the in 老林 isn't 'old = elderly' but 'old growth, ancient.'

Stroke Order

shēn
shān
lǎo
lín