君住长江头

君住長江頭

jūnzhùchángjiāngtóu

phrase

Meanings

1 you live at the Yangtze's head (its upper reaches)
2 (rare textual variant) I live at the river's head, said of the narrator — see note
3 (lit.) you (or I) live at the Long River's head

Characters

head (长江头 = upper Yangtze)

Examples

朋友分居长江两端，一头一尾，他发短信说我住长江头，君住长江尾。

Péngyǒu fēnjū Chángjiāng liǎng duān, yī tóu yī wěi, tā fā duǎnxìn shuō wǒ zhù Chángjiāng tóu, jūn zhù Chángjiāng wěi.

Friends living at opposite ends of the Yangtze — he texted 'I live at the river's head, you live at the river's tail.'

李之仪写给心上人的词，第一句就是我住长江头。

Lǐ Zhīyí xiě gěi xīnshàngrén de cí, dì yī jù jiùshì wǒ zhù Chángjiāng tóu.

The ci-lyric Li Zhiyi wrote to his beloved opens with 'I live at the Yangtze's head.'

Tips

history

The canonical line in 李之仪《卜算子·我住长江头》(Li Zhiyi, Northern Song, early 12th c.) is 我住长江头，君住长江尾 (I live at the Yangtze's head, you at its tail). The reversed form 君住长江头 appears in later circulations and as the symmetrical half when the line is repeated (e.g., in modern song settings where both shores sing alternately). 长江头 = upper Yangtze (Sichuan); 长江尾 = lower Yangtze (Jiangsu/Shanghai).

usage

In the original ci the narrator says 我住长江头 (entry 851 in the reverse role). 君住长江头 is most often heard in modern adaptations or when the line is quoted with swapped perspective. Always paired with the matching 江尾 half. 君 = 'you' (respectful / beloved).

Stroke Order

君 jūn

住 zhù

长 cháng

江 jiāng

头 tóu