Meeting again after thirty years felt as though we'd been separated by another lifetime.
Tips
usage
Variant of 恍如隔世 (huǎngrúgéshì). 若 and 如 both mean 'as if' here. Use when reunions or returns feel jarringly disconnected from the present.
history
The original form 恍如隔世 traces to Song poet Fan Chengda's 《吴船录》, describing his return to a familiar place after long absence. 世 ('a generation') was traditionally counted as thirty years — hence the time-warp feeling.
