执手相看泪眼

執手相看淚眼
zhíshǒu xiāngkàn lèiyǎn
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 hand in hand, gazing at each other with tear-filled eyes
  2. 2 a tearful, wordless parting

Examples

HSK 7-9
Sòngbié de zhàntái shàng, liǎng rén zhíshǒu xiāngkàn lèiyǎn, yījùhuà yě shuō bu chūlái.
On the farewell platform, they held hands and looked at each other through tears, unable to speak.
HSK 7-9
Jīchǎng lǐ chángcháng kàndào zhíshǒu xiāngkàn lèiyǎn de chǎngmiàn.
You often see scenes of hand-holding, tearful farewells at airports.

Tips

history
From 柳永 (Northern Song) 《雨霖铃·寒蝉凄切》. The line continues: 执手相看泪眼竟无语凝噎 - 'hand in hand, we gaze with tearful eyes, choked up with nothing to say.' One of the most famous parting poems in the ci tradition.
usage
Often paired with the next line 竟无语凝噎. here is pronounced kàn in its standard modern reading, though classical recitation sometimes uses kān.

Stroke Order

zhí
shǒu
xiāng
kàn
lèi
yǎn