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枯藤老树昏鸦

枯藤老樹昏鴉
kūténglǎoshùhūnyā
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 withered vines, old tree, crows at dusk
  2. 2 a canonical image of autumn desolation and loneliness
  3. 3 (lit.) dead-vine old-tree dusk-crows

Examples

看到这幅水墨画，就想到枯藤老树昏鸦那句词。
Kàndào zhè fú shuǐmòhuà, jiù xiǎngdào kūténg lǎoshù hūn yā nà jù cí.
Seeing this ink painting, I immediately thought of the line 'withered vines, old trees, crows at dusk.'
深秋的黄昏，枯藤老树昏鸦，格外凄凉。
Shēnqiū de huánghūn, kūténg lǎoshù hūn yā, géwài qīliáng.
A late-autumn dusk — withered vines, old tree, crows coming home — especially desolate.

Tips

history
Opening line of Ma Zhiyuan's (马致远, Yuan) 《天净沙·秋思》: 枯藤老树昏鸦，小桥流水人家，古道西风瘦马。夕阳西下，断肠人在天涯。(Withered vines, old tree, crows at dusk; small bridge, running water, a household; ancient road, west wind, lean horse. Sun sets — the heartbroken one is at the edge of the sky.) Considered the greatest 小令 (short sanqu) in Chinese literature — every phrase a standalone image, no verbs.
usage
The power of the line lies in its pure noun-stacking — no verbs. Try it in Chinese: three images = one scene. Often quoted in painting titles and in modern songs evoking wanderer-loneliness.

Stroke Order

枯 kū
藤 téng
老 lǎo
树 shù
昏 hūn
鸦 yā