借问酒家何处有

借問酒家何處有

jièwènjiǔjiāhéchùyǒu

phrase

Meanings

1 may I ask where a tavern can be found?
2 the rainy Qingming traveler's question in Du Mu's poem
3 a classical way of asking for a drink on the road

Characters

borrow (here: may I)

house / establishment

Examples

借问酒家何处有？牧童遥指杏花村。

Jièwèn jiǔjiā héchù yǒu? Mùtóng yáo zhǐ Xìnghuā cūn.

'Where might a tavern be found?' The cowherd points afar toward Apricot Blossom Village.

走得又累又渴，真想借问酒家何处有。

Zǒu de yòu lèi yòu kě, zhēn xiǎng jièwèn jiǔjiā héchù yǒu.

Tired and thirsty from walking, I wanted to ask: where can a tavern be found?

Tips

history

The third line of Du Mu's (杜牧) 《清明》: 清明时节雨纷纷，路上行人欲断魂。借问酒家何处有？牧童遥指杏花村。 — a Qingming-day traveler, cold and heartsick in the rain, asks a cowherd where to find a tavern. The line's formula 借问……何处有 has since become a standard literary way to phrase 'may I ask where…?'

usage

Almost always cited together with the closing line 牧童遥指杏花村. 借问 is a polite classical 'may I ask,' still used in poetry and refined writing.

Stroke Order

借 jiè

问 wèn

酒 jiǔ

家 jiā

何 hé

处 chù

有 yǒu