黄泉

黃泉
Huángquán
noun #15,010

Meanings

  1. 1 the Yellow Springs
  2. 2 the underworld (Chinese mythology)
  3. 3 the realm of the dead

Examples

Tā fāshì jiùsuàn dào le Huángquán yě bú huì wàngjì tā.
He swore he wouldn't forget her even in the underworld.
Bú dào Huángquán bù xiāngjiàn.
We shall not meet again until the Yellow Springs. (i.e., never again in this life)

Tips

history
In ancient Chinese cosmology, 黄泉 was the underground realm where souls went after death — named for the yellow-colored springs believed to exist deep underground. It appears in texts as early as the Zuozhuan (, 5th century BC).
culture
The famous line 不到黄泉相见 comes from the Zuozhuan, where Duke Zhuang of Zheng swore never to see his mother again. It's now used as a dramatic expression meaning 'until death.'

Stroke Order

huáng
quán