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碧海青天夜夜心

bìhǎiqīngtiānyèyèxīn
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 blue sea, green sky — her heart ached night after night
  2. 2 (fig.) eternal loneliness and regret, set against a cold cosmic backdrop
  3. 3 (lit.) emerald sea, azure sky, night-night heart

Examples

她独自一人生活多年，颇有碧海青天夜夜心的孤寂。
Tā dúzì yī rén shēnghuó duō nián, pō yǒu bì hǎi qīng tiān yè yè xīn de gūjì.
Living alone for many years, she had something of the loneliness of 'blue sea, green sky — night after night, the heart.'
诗人感叹嫦娥应悔偷灵药，碧海青天夜夜心。
Shīrén gǎntàn Cháng'é yīng huǐ tōu língyào, bì hǎi qīng tiān yè yè xīn.
The poet laments: 'Chang'e must regret stealing the elixir — blue sea, green sky, her heart aching night by night.'

Tips

history
From 李商隐《嫦娥》(Li Shangyin, 'Chang'e,' late Tang, 9th c.): 云母屏风烛影深，长河渐落晓星沉。嫦娥应悔偷灵药，碧海青天夜夜心 (Mica screen, candle-shadows deep; the Silver River sinks, dawn stars fade. Chang'e must regret stealing the elixir — blue sea, green sky, her heart aching night after night). Li Shangyin re-tells the moon-goddess myth as eternal female loneliness; the final line is one of Tang poetry's most quoted images of cosmic solitude.
usage
Always quoted as the closing of the full couplet 嫦娥应悔偷灵药，碧海青天夜夜心. 碧海青天 alone has become a set phrase for the vast, remote, indifferent cosmos. Used in song lyrics, film titles, and poetry.

Stroke Order

碧 bì
海 hǎi
青 qīng
天 tiān
夜 yè
心 xīn