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风景旧曾谙

風景舊曾諳
fēngjǐngjiùcéngān
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 the scenery I once knew so well
  2. 2 (fig.) deeply familiar landscape of fond memory — the Jiangnan of one's youth
  3. 3 (lit.) landscape formerly once (intimately) known

Examples

他回到杭州，一草一木都是风景旧曾谙。
Tā huí dào Hángzhōu, yī cǎo yī mù dōu shì fēngjǐng jiù céng ān.
Returning to Hangzhou, every blade of grass and tree was 'scenery he once knew so well.'
读到江南好，风景旧曾谙，她忽然想起小时候的故乡。
Dú dào Jiāngnán hǎo, fēngjǐng jiù céng ān, tā hūrán xiǎng qǐ xiǎo shíhou de gùxiāng.
Reading 'Jiangnan is fine, the scenery I once knew so well,' she suddenly remembered her childhood home.

Tips

history
From 白居易《忆江南·江南好》(Bai Juyi, 'Recalling Jiangnan: Jiangnan is Fine,' middle Tang, c. 835 CE): 江南好，风景旧曾谙。日出江花红胜火，春来江水绿如蓝。能不忆江南？(Jiangnan is fine — its scenery I once knew so well. At sunrise river-flowers are redder than fire; in spring the river water is green like indigo. How could I not remember Jiangnan?). Bai Juyi wrote this recalling his years as governor of Suzhou and Hangzhou; a foundational text of the 'Jiangnan nostalgia' tradition.
usage
Reading: 谙 = ān ('to know intimately'), a less common character. 曾 = céng (2nd tone, 'once / formerly'). Almost always quoted with 江南好 as the preceding phrase.

Stroke Order

风 fēng
景 jǐng
旧 jiù
曾 céng
谙 ān