接天莲叶无穷碧

接天蓮葉無窮碧

jiē tiān lián yè wú qióng bì

quotation

Meanings

1 lotus leaves meet the sky in endless jade green - a vast, saturated summer lotus-pond scene
2 literally: touching the sky, lotus leaves, boundless jade green

Characters

exhaust / end (无穷 = endless)

碧

bì

jade green

Examples

HSK 2

夏天的西湖，接天莲叶无穷碧。

Xiàtiān de Xīhú, jiē tiān lián yè wú qióng bì.

West Lake in summer - lotus leaves meet the sky in endless jade green.

HSK 7-9

飞机降落时，水田接天莲叶无穷碧，很震撼。

Fēijī jiàngluò shí, shuǐtián jiē tiān lián yè wú qióng bì, hěn zhènhàn.

As the plane descended, the paddy fields' greenness reached the sky in an endless jade sea - breathtaking.

Tips

history

From 杨万里's Southern Song poem 《晓出净慈寺送林子方》 (Seeing Lin Zifang Off at Dawn from the Jingci Temple). Couplet: 接天莲叶无穷碧，映日荷花别样红 - 'Lotus leaves meet the sky, endlessly green; lotus flowers mirror the sun, a singular red.' Set at West Lake in Hangzhou, near Jingci Temple, it is the canonical Chinese lotus-pond image.

usage

Paired couplet - invariably quoted with its mate 映日荷花别样红. Standard reference for West Lake summer scenery, but also used metaphorically for any vast green expanse (paddy fields, forests, golf courses).

Stroke Order

接 jiē

天 tiān

莲 lián

叶 yè

无 wú

穷 qióng

碧 bì