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疑是银河落九天

疑是銀河落九天
yí shì Yínhé luò jiǔtiān
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 I suspect it is the Milky Way fallen from the ninth heaven
  2. 2 as if the galaxy itself were pouring down from the sky
  3. 3 (lit.) seems to be the Silver River falling from the nine heavens

Examples

HSK 7-9
黄果树瀑布飞泻，疑是银河落九天。
Huángguǒshùpùbù fēi xiè, yíshìyínhéluòjiǔtiān.
Huangguoshu Falls rushes down - as if the Milky Way were pouring from the ninth heaven.
HSK 7-9
烟花在夜空绽放，颇有疑是银河落九天的气势。
Yānhuā zài yèkōng zhànfàng, pō yǒu yíshìyínhéluòjiǔtiān de qìshì.
Fireworks bursting in the night sky had the sweep of 'the Milky Way falling from the ninth heaven.'

Tips

history
From Li Bai's (李白) Tang-dynasty poem 《望庐山瀑布》 (Gazing at Mount Lu’s Waterfall). Full quatrain: 『日照香炉生紫烟，遥看瀑布挂前川。飞流直下三千尺，疑是银河落九天』 - 'sun lights Incense Burner Peak, purple mist rising; from afar the waterfall hangs like a river in the sky. A flying stream plunges three thousand feet - surely the Milky Way has fallen from the ninth heaven.' A staple of primary-school textbooks.
usage
九天 in Chinese cosmology is the highest of nine heavenly layers. 银河 ('Silver River') is the Milky Way. The line is the go-to simile for any huge waterfall or any shining stream of light falling from above.

Stroke Order

疑 yí
是 shì
银 yín
河 hé
落 luò
九 jiǔ
天 tiān