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萍水相逢

píngshuǐxiāngféng
idiom HSK 7 #40,906

Meanings

  1. 1 to meet by chance like duckweed on water
  2. 2 a chance encounter between strangers

Examples

我们萍水相逢，却成了好朋友。
Wǒmen píngshuǐxiāngféng, què chéng le hǎo péngyǒu.
We met by chance, yet became good friends.
虽然萍水相逢，他还是热心帮助了我。
Suīrán píngshuǐxiāngféng, tā háishì rèxīn bāngzhù le wǒ.
Although we were total strangers, he enthusiastically helped me.

Tips

memory
Picture duckweed (萍) floating on water (水) -- two pieces drift together briefly and then apart. That's the image: strangers meeting by chance.
history
From the Tang dynasty poet Wang Bo's famous preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng (《滕王阁序》): 萍水相逢，尽是他乡之客.

Stroke Order

萍 píng
水 shuǐ
相 xiāng
逢 féng