犹有花枝俏

猶有花枝俏

yóuyǒuhuāzhīqiào

phrase

Meanings

1 yet there is still one bright flowering branch
2 (fig.) the plum blossom's defiance — beauty and spirit preserved even when everything else is crushed
3 (lit.) still has flower-branch pretty

Characters

branch (花枝 = blossoming branch)

俏

qiào

pretty / sprightly

Examples

在最艰苦的岁月里，他始终保持乐观，犹有花枝俏的精神。

Zài zuì jiānkǔ de suìyuè lǐ, tā shǐzhōng bǎochí lèguān, yóu yǒu huā zhī qiào de jīngshén.

In the hardest years, he stayed optimistic — keeping the spirit of 'still one branch bright in bloom.'

风雨过后，园中梅花依旧犹有花枝俏。

Fēngyǔ guòhòu, yuán zhōng méihuā yījiù yóu yǒu huā zhī qiào.

After the storm, the plum in the garden 'still has one bright flowering branch.'

Tips

history

From 毛泽东《卜算子·咏梅》(Mao Zedong, 'Bu Suan Zi: Ode to the Plum,' 1961): 风雨送春归，飞雪迎春到。已是悬崖百丈冰，犹有花枝俏。俏也不争春，只把春来报。待到山花烂漫时，她在丛中笑 (Wind and rain send spring back, flying snow greets spring's return. Even as the cliff is draped in a hundred zhang of ice, there is still a bright flowering branch. Bright, yet it does not vie with spring — it only heralds its arrival. When the mountain flowers bloom in riot, she laughs among the throng). Explicitly written in reply to Lu You's gloomier 卜算子·咏梅.

usage

Reading: 俏 = qiào ('pretty / bright / sprightly'), 4th tone. Always quoted within the context of 悬崖百丈冰，犹有花枝俏. Used to evoke defiance and beauty surviving in adversity — political, personal, or artistic.

Stroke Order

犹 yóu

有 yǒu

花 huā

枝 zhī

俏 qiào