盈盈一水间

盈盈一水間

yíngyíngyīshuǐjiān

phrase

Meanings

1 across one brimming stretch of water
2 (fig.) so near yet so unreachable, separated by a thin but uncrossable barrier
3 (lit.) full-brimming one water in-between

Characters

brimming (盈盈 = full and gleaming)

Examples

他们两人虽近在咫尺，却像盈盈一水间，谁也没说出口。

Tāmen liǎng rén suī jìn zài zhǐchǐ, què xiàng yíngyíng yī shuǐ jiān, shéi yě méi shuō chū kǒu.

Though close as inches, they were like 'one brimming stretch of water between' — neither could speak.

七夕夜里，牛郎织女盈盈一水间，脉脉不得语。

Qīxī yèlǐ, Niúláng Zhīnǚ yíngyíng yī shuǐ jiān, mò mò bù dé yǔ.

On Qixi night, Cowherd and Weaver Girl stand 'a brimming stretch of water apart,' gazing but unable to speak.

Tips

history

From 《古诗十九首·迢迢牵牛星》(Nineteen Old Poems, 'Far Away, the Cowherd Star,' Han dynasty, anonymous, c. 100 CE): 盈盈一水间，脉脉不得语 (Across one brimming stretch of water — gazing in silence, unable to speak). The poem rewrites the Cowherd-and-Weaver-Girl (牛郎织女) myth: separated by the Silver River (Milky Way), the two can see each other across a narrow strip but cannot cross. The prototype Qixi / Chinese Valentine's love-across-the-river image.

usage

Reading: 盈 = yíng ('full, brimming'); 盈盈 suggests water glimmering and full-to-the-brim. Always paired with 脉脉不得语. Used today for any painful near-but-unreachable separation, especially in love poetry and song lyrics.

Stroke Order

盈 yíng

一 yī

水 shuǐ

间 jiān