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庭院深深深几许

庭院深深深幾許
tíngyuàn shēnshēn shēn jǐxǔ
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 how deep, how deep is the courtyard?
  2. 2 evoking the loneliness and hidden life of an inner chamber
  3. 3 (lit.) courtyard deep, deep, how deep?

Examples

HSK 7-9
走进这座老宅，真有种庭院深深深几许的感觉。
Zǒujìn zhè zuò lǎozhái, zhēn yǒu zhǒng tíngyuàn shēnshēn shēn jǐxǔ de gǎnjué.
Stepping into the old mansion, you feel the line 'how deep, how deep is the courtyard.'
HSK 7-9
豪门内幕，庭院深深深几许，外人难以窥见。
Háomén nèimù, tíngyuàn shēnshēn shēn jǐxǔ, wàirén nányǐ kuījiàn.
The inner workings of great families are like deep, deep courtyards - outsiders rarely glimpse them.

Tips

history
Opening line of 欧阳修's (Northern Song) 《蝶恋花·庭院深深深几许》: 庭院深深深几许？杨柳堆烟，帘幕无重数。 (How deep, how deep is the courtyard? Willows piled like mist, curtains beyond counting.) A woman laments her absent lover behind layered courtyards. 李清照 loved the line so much she wrote several poems borrowing the phrase.
usage
The three repeated 深 characters (shēn shēn shēn) are deliberately incantatory - don't flatten them in reading. 几许 is classical for 'how much / how many' (roughly 多少).

Stroke Order

庭 tíng
院 yuàn
深 shēn
几 jǐ
许 xǔ