鸳鸯债

鴛鴦債

yuānyāngzhài

phrase

Meanings

1 a love-debt
2 an unfinished bond between lovers
3 romantic obligations carried into the next life

Characters

male mandarin duck

female mandarin duck

Examples

HSK 6

两人当年未了的鸳鸯债，这辈子总算还清了。

Liǎng rén dāngnián wèiliǎo de yuānyāngzhài, zhè bèizi zǒngsuàn huán qīng le.

The unfinished love-debt between them from years ago was finally settled in this lifetime.

HSK 7-9

小说结尾才揭晓，原来他们之间早有一笔鸳鸯债。

Xiǎoshuō jiéwěi cái jiēxiǎo, yuánlái tāmen zhījiān zǎo yǒu yī bǐ yuānyāngzhài.

The novel only reveals at the end that there had long been a love-debt between them.

Tips

culture

Chinese romance often frames love as a 债 (debt) that must be repaid, sometimes across lifetimes - a Buddhist-inflected trope. 鸳鸯债 is the specific debt between lovers who could not finish what they started.

Stroke Order

鸳 yuān

鸯 yāng

债 zhài