如胶似漆

如膠似漆
rújiāosìqī
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 stuck together like glue and lacquer
  2. 2 deeply attached (esp. of lovers)
  3. 3 inseparable

Examples

Tāmen liǎ rújiāosìqī, zhěng tiān xíngyǐng bùlí.
The two of them are inseparable, together all day long.
Xīnhūn fūfù rújiāosìqī, shéi yě shěbude líkāi shéi.
The newlyweds are stuck like glue, neither can bear to be apart from the other.

Tips

history
From 《史记·》 (Records of the Grand Historian): the original line compares deep bonds to the way (jiāo, glue) and (qī, lacquer) fuse — once joined, they cannot be separated. Most often used today for romantic couples.
usage
Almost always describes lovers or newlyweds, not friendships. For platonic closeness use 形影不离 (xíngyǐng bùlí, shadow-and-body inseparable) instead.

Stroke Order

jiāo