白月光

báiyuèguāng
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 (slang) the one that got away
  2. 2 idealized/unattainable first love

Examples

Tā shì tā xīn lǐ yǒngyuǎn de báiyuèguāng.
She's the one that got away, forever in his heart.
Bié zài diànjì qiánrèn le, báiyuèguāng jiù ràng tā liú zài huíyì lǐ ba.
Stop pining for your ex. Let the one that got away stay in the memories.

Tips

culture
From Zhang Ailing's 《玫瑰玫瑰》: every man has two women, the red rose he marries (reality) and the white moonlight on his wall (the idealized past). Revived in 2010s C-dramas and online fiction as the standard trope-name for the pure, distant first love. Male equivalent / darker flip: 朱砂痣.

Stroke Order

bái
yuè
guāng