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乃敢与君绝

乃敢與君絕
nǎi gǎn yǔ jūn jué
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 only then would I dare to break with you
  2. 2 (a lover's vow) no impossible condition fulfilled, no parting
  3. 3 (lit.) only then dare with you sever

Examples

HSK 7-9
山无陵，天地合，乃敢与君绝。这是《上邪》中最动人的誓言。
Shān wú líng, tiāndì hé, nǎigǎnyǔjūnjué. zhè shì 《 Shàng Yé 》 zhōng zuì dòngrén de shìyán.
'When mountains have no peaks, when heaven and earth meet - only then would I dare break with you' - the most moving vow in the Yuefu song 'Shang Ye.'
HSK 7-9
她在誓言里引用乃敢与君绝，表达一生一世的决心。
Tā zài shìyán lǐ yǐnyòng nǎigǎnyǔjūnjué, biǎodá yīshēngyīshì de juéxīn.
In her vow she cited 'only then would I dare break with you,' expressing a lifetime of resolve.

Tips

history
Closing line of 《上邪》 (Shàng Yé, 'Oh Heaven Above'), a Han-dynasty 乐府 (yuefu) love song: 上邪！我欲与君相知，长命无绝衰 (Oh heaven! I want to know you, a life without end or decay). The poem stacks impossibilities - when mountains have no peaks, rivers run dry, winter thunders roar, summer rains snow, heaven and earth merge - only then would the speaker dare to leave. The canonical 'list of impossibilities' love oath in Chinese.
usage
乃 here = classical 'only then' (not 'is'). The whole poem stacks five impossibilities before reaching 乃敢与君绝. Routinely recited at weddings, on Qixi Festival, or in love-song lyrics.

Stroke Order

乃 nǎi
敢 gǎn
与 yǔ
君 jūn
绝 jué