只是当时已惘然

只是當時已惘然

zhǐshìdāngshíyǐwǎngrán

phrase

Meanings

1 only, at the time, we were already dazed / lost
2 Li Shangyin's closing line — love was plain to see afterward, but at the moment we were in a fog

Characters

(adverbial suffix)

Examples

回想起来，原来她一直在等我，只是当时已惘然。

Huíxiǎng qǐlái, yuánlái tā yīzhí zài děng wǒ, zhǐ shì dāngshí yǐ wǎngrán.

Looking back, she had been waiting for me all along — only, at the time, we were already dazed.

"此情可待成追忆，只是当时已惘然"——人人都有这样的时刻。

"Cǐ qíng kě dài chéng zhuīyì, zhǐ shì dāngshí yǐ wǎngrán" — rén rén dōu yǒu zhèyàng de shíkè.

'This love could only become a memory; only, at the time, we were already lost' — everyone has such moments.

Tips

history

Closing couplet of 《锦瑟》 by 李商隐 (Li Shangyin, late Tang): '此情可待成追忆，只是当时已惘然.' One of the most famously ambiguous poems in Chinese — centuries of debate over whom it mourns (wife? concubine? patron? own youth?).

usage

惘然 (wǎngrán) = 'dazed, at a loss, staring blankly.' Still used today. Common mistake: confusing with 网 (wǎng, net) — different character.

Stroke Order

只 zhǐ

是 shì

当 dāng

时 shí

已 yǐ

惘 wǎng

然 rán