依依不舍

• Pinyin: yī yī bù shě
• Hanzi breakdown: 依 = 亻 + 衣 (person + clothing — leaning close, suggesting attachment); 依依 = reduplication intensifying the sense of tender clinging; 不 = negation; 舍 = 人 + 舍 (simplified 捨 — hand releasing something — to give up/let go)

Meaning

Reluctant to part; loath to leave. A deep, tender unwillingness to say goodbye to a person or place one is deeply attached to.

A four-character idiom (成语) describing emotional reluctance at parting. Used for farewells at graduation, retirement, migration, or long-term separation from loved ones or familiar places. More literary and emotionally nuanced than simply 舍不得. Often combined with 告别、送别、离别.

Examples

1. 毕业典礼结束后，同学们三三两两地聚在校园里拍照留念，每个人脸上都流露出依依不舍的神情。 After the graduation ceremony, classmates gathered in small groups around campus to take photos, and everyone’s face showed how hard it was to say goodbye.
2. 他在这座城市生活了整整二十年，离开那天站在门口回望空荡荡的房间，心中充满了依依不舍之情。 He had lived in the city for a full twenty years; on the day he left, he stood in the doorway and looked back at the empty room, filled with reluctance to part.
3. 年迈的村民望着即将进城务工的儿子，拉着他的手依依不舍，直到汽车转过山坳才收回目光。 The elderly villager held his son’s hand, unwilling to let go as the son was about to leave for city work, and didn’t look away until the car disappeared around the mountain bend.

Usage Guide

Context: farewell, literature, emotions, social occasions

Tone: sentimental

Do Say

• 支教团队在山村小学服务了整整一年，离别当日孩子们依依不舍地追送到村口，泪水与欢笑交织，令在场所有人动容。(The teaching volunteer team served at the mountain village primary school for a full year; on the day of departure, the children reluctantly chased after them to the village entrance, their tears and laughter intertwined, moving everyone present.)
• 退休仪式上，这位工作了三十八年的老工程师依依不舍地抚摸着他亲手参与设计的机器，久久不愿离去。(At the retirement ceremony, the veteran engineer who had worked for thirty-eight years lingered reluctantly beside the machine he had helped design with his own hands, unwilling to leave for a long time.)

Don't Say

• 我依依不舍那部手机 — this idiom applies to people or places that hold deep emotional significance; using it for ordinary objects like a phone sounds comically overstated; use 舍不得 instead for everyday reluctance

Origin & History

依依 (clinging tenderly, lingering — originally describing the soft swaying of willow branches, extended to emotional attachment) + 不舍 (not willing to let go/part with)

Cultural Context

Era: Classical/Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal