车水马龙

車水馬龍
chēshuǐ-mǎlóng
idiom #58,589

Meanings

  1. 1 carriages like a flowing river, horses like a dragon (idiom)
  2. 2 heavy traffic; endless stream of vehicles
  3. 3 bustling scene

Examples

HSK 2
Xiàbān shíjiān, jiēshàng chēshuǐ-mǎlóng.
At rush hour the streets are packed with traffic.
HSK 3
Zhè tiáo shāngyèjiē zǒngshì chēshuǐ-mǎlóng.
This shopping street is always bustling.
HSK 4
Jiérì lǐ, shìzhōngxīn chēshuǐ-mǎlóng, shífēn rènao.
During the holiday, downtown was bustling with endless traffic.

Tips

history
From 《后汉书·明德马皇后纪》: Empress Ma observes relatives arriving to greet her and writes 车如流水,马如游龙 - 'carriages like a flowing river, horses like a roaming dragon.' The four characters are the condensed version of her line.
memory
Two halves: 车水 (carriages-water, a flowing stream of cars) + 马龙 (horses-dragon, a long undulating line). Modern Chinese cities fit the image perfectly, even without horses.

Stroke Order

chē
shuǐ
lóng