鸟鸣山更幽

鳥鳴山更幽

niǎomíngshāngèngyōu

phrase

Meanings

1 the bird's call makes the mountain yet more quiet
2 (fig.) a small sound amid great silence deepens the stillness — a paradox of contrast
3 (lit.) bird-cry, mountain more secluded

Characters

to cry / call (of bird)

Examples

清晨一声鸟叫，山谷更静，正是鸟鸣山更幽。

Qīngchén yī shēng niǎo jiào, shāngǔ gèng jìng, zhèng shì niǎo míng shān gèng yōu.

A single bird call at dawn, and the valley feels even quieter — truly 'the bird's call makes the mountain more still.'

深夜有风吹动树叶，反倒让房间更安静，如鸟鸣山更幽。

Shēnyè yǒu fēng chuīdòng shùyè, fǎndào ràng fángjiān gèng ānjìng, rú niǎo míng shān gèng yōu.

Deep at night a breeze rustles the leaves, which makes the room feel quieter — like 'the bird's cry deepening the mountain's hush.'

Tips

history

From 王籍《入若耶溪》(Wang Ji, Liang dynasty, 6th c.): 蝉噪林逾静，鸟鸣山更幽 (The cicadas' racket makes the forest yet quieter; the bird's cry makes the mountain more secluded). One of the most celebrated paradox-couplets in Chinese poetry, famously praised across dynasties and endlessly imitated. Cited as a textbook example of 以动衬静 (using motion to foreground stillness).

usage

Inseparable from 蝉噪林逾静 — the two lines are exact parallel structures expressing the same paradox. 幽 (yōu) = deep, secluded, hushed. 更 = even more. A staple example in Chinese aesthetics and rhetoric courses.

Stroke Order

鸟 niǎo

鸣 míng

山 shān

更 gèng

幽 yōu