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君住长江头

君住長江頭
jūn zhù Chángjiāng tóu
quotation

Meanings

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

Examples

HSK 4
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, dìyī jù jiùshì wǒ zhù Chángjiāng tóu.
The ci-lyric Li Zhiyi wrote to his beloved opens with 'I live at the Yangtze's head.'
HSK 7-9
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 liǎngduān, yītóu 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.'

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. 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. 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