字里行间

字裡行間
zìlǐhángjiān
idiom #36,657

Meanings

  1. 1 between the lines
  2. 2 implied meaning in writing
  3. 3 what the words convey beyond their literal sense

Examples

Zìlǐhángjiān liúlù chū tā de sīxiāng zhī qíng.
His homesickness shows through between the lines.
Wǒ zài tā de xìn zhōng dú chū le zìlǐhángjiān de bù'ān.
I read the unease between the lines of her letter.

Tips

history
From Liang dynasty Emperor Jianwen's preface : 风云生于 ('wind and clouds emerge from the line spaces, pearls and jade are born in the characters').
mistakes
Note that here is read háng (line/row), not xíng (to walk). Reading it as 'xíng' is the most common pinyin slip.

Stroke Order

xíng
jiān