永恒

• Pinyin: yǒng héng
• Hanzi breakdown: 永 = endless water flow (forever); 恒 = 忄+ 亘 (heart + spanning — constant, unchanging)

Meaning

Eternal; everlasting; perpetual. Describes something that transcends time and remains unchanged forever.

Used in philosophical, literary, and rhetorical contexts to denote timelessness. Common collocations: 永恒的主题 (eternal theme), 永恒的价值 (timeless value), 永恒不变 (eternally unchanging). Can be used as a noun (eternity) or adjective (eternal). Often appears in discussions of art, love, truth, and moral principles.

Examples

1. 哲学史对时间本质的讨论，总在流变与永恒之间展开，人类对永恒的追问从未停止。 Philosophy's discussion of the nature of time has always unfolded between change and eternity, and humanity's inquiry into eternity has never stopped.
2. 这座美术馆由贝聿铭晚年设计，被誉为融合东方美学与现代建筑、追求永恒对话的典范。 This museum, designed by I. M. Pei in his later years, is praised as a model of blending Eastern aesthetics and modern architecture in pursuit of an eternal dialogue.
3. 优秀文学能穿越时代，是因它呈现的人类情感与困境具有永恒的普遍性。 Good literature can cross eras because the human emotions and struggles it portrays have an eternal universality.

Usage Guide

Context: philosophy, literature, art, rhetoric

Tone: elevated

Do Say

• 这部写了四十多年的自传体小说，忠实呈现孤独、意义与爱的永恒命题，让不同文化的读者都能共鸣。(This autobiographical novel, written over more than forty years, faithfully presents the eternal themes of loneliness, meaning, and love, allowing readers from different cultures to resonate with it.)
• 论坛上，艺术家和策展人讨论了短暂与永恒的张力，以及当代艺术如何创造超越时代的作品。(At the forum, artists and curators discussed the tension between transience and eternity, and how contemporary art can create works that outlast their era.)

Don't Say

• 这个优惠是永恒的 — 永恒 denotes philosophical or absolute timelessness; for commercial promotions or practical long-term validity, use 长期有效 or 永久; 永恒 in advertising sounds hyperbolic and odd

Origin & History

永 (forever — water flowing endlessly) + 恒 (constant — 忄heart + 亘 spanning/extending, meaning steadfast and unchanging)

Cultural Context

Era: Classical–Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal