流连忘返

流連忘返

liúliánwàngfǎn

idiom #49,481

Meanings

1 to linger, unable to tear oneself away
2 so enchanted that one forgets to go home

Characters

to connect; continuous

Examples

这里风景如画，令人流连忘返。

Zhèlǐ fēngjǐng rúhuà, lìng rén liúliánwàngfǎn.

The scenery here is picturesque — you can't tear yourself away.

他在书店里流连忘返。

Tā zài shūdiàn lǐ liúliánwàngfǎn.

He lingered in the bookstore, forgetting to leave.

游客在古城流连忘返。

Yóukè zài gǔchéng liúliánwàngfǎn.

Tourists linger in the old town, unwilling to leave.

Tips

history

From 《孟子·梁惠王下》: going downstream and forgetting to return is 流, going upstream and forgetting is 连. Mencius used the pair to criticize rulers who lost themselves in pleasure — the modern idiom keeps the 'caught up and forgetting to go home' core but drops the moral edge.

Stroke Order

流 liú

连 lián

忘 wàng

返 fǎn