问君能有几多愁

問君能有幾多愁

wènjūnnéngyǒujǐduōchóu

phrase

Meanings

1 let me ask you how much sorrow you can hold
2 how much grief can one person bear?

Characters

you (polite, classical)

Examples

问君能有几多愁？恰似一江春水向东流。

Wèn jūn néng yǒu jǐ duō chóu? Qià sì yī jiāng chūn shuǐ xiàng dōng liú.

Let me ask you how much sorrow you can hold — just like a river of spring water flowing east.

想起这些年的坎坷，她轻声吟道：问君能有几多愁。

Xiǎngqǐ zhè xiē nián de kǎnkě, tā qīngshēng yín dào: wèn jūn néng yǒu jǐ duō chóu.

Thinking of the hardships of these years, she softly recited: 'How much sorrow can one bear?'

Tips

history

From Li Yu's 《虞美人·春花秋月何时了》 (Southern Tang, ~978), written in captivity after the Song conquered his kingdom: 问君能有几多愁？恰似一江春水向东流。 The answer — sorrow 'like a river of spring water flowing east' — is among the most famous similes in Chinese literature. Legend says the Song emperor poisoned Li Yu after reading this poem.

usage

君 (jūn) here is a polite 'you' — the speaker is actually addressing himself. Always quote with its answer 恰似一江春水向东流.

Stroke Order

问 wèn

君 jūn

能 néng

有 yǒu

几 jǐ

多 duō

愁 chóu