萍水相逢

• Pinyin: píng shuǐ xiāng féng
• Desglose de hanzi: 萍 = 艹 + 苹 (grass + floating plant — duckweed); 水 = ≋ (flowing water); 相 = 木 + 目 (tree + eye — mutually observing); 逢 = 辶 + 夆 (walking/meeting + pointed top — to encounter while travelling)

Significado

Encuentro casual entre desconocidos; cruzarse por azar

Often used to describe brief encounters (on a journey, at an event) that are memorable despite their transience. Can carry a bittersweet tone. Classical origin from Wang Bo's Tang dynasty preface to Tengwang Ge (滕王阁序): '萍水相逢，尽是他乡之客.'

Ejemplos

1. 虽然我们只是萍水相逢，但他在我最困难的时候伸出了援手，这份情谊我至今铭记于心。
2. 旅途中与陌生人萍水相逢，往往能听到最真实的人生故事，因为彼此都不必顾虑后续的社会评判。
3. 在这个流动性极高的时代，许多人感叹深厚的友谊越来越难得，大多数相识不过是萍水相逢罢了。

Guía de uso

Contexto: literature, travel, relationships, reflection

Tono: neutral

Correcto

• 在那次国际会议上，他与这位学者萍水相逢，两人在走廊里的短暂交谈却为他此后的研究方向打开了全新的视野。(At that international conference, he chanced to meet this scholar — a fleeting encounter — yet a brief conversation in the corridor opened up an entirely new perspective for his subsequent research direction.)
• 她在回忆录中写道，那次萍水相逢的旅途邂逅，比她人生中许多深思熟虑的决定更深刻地改变了她看待世界的方式。(In her memoir she wrote that the chance encounter during that journey changed the way she saw the world more profoundly than many of the carefully considered decisions in her life.)

Incorrecto

• 萍水相逢 describes a chance meeting between strangers — do not use it for planned reunions or for people who already know each other; for meeting an old friend unexpectedly, use 不期而遇 or 偶遇

Origen e historia

萍 (duckweed — 艹 grass + 苹 floating plant) + 水 (water) + 相 (mutually) + 逢 (to meet while travelling). From Wang Bo's 滕王阁序.

Contexto cultural

Época: Tang dynasty (origin)

Generación: All ages

Contexto social: Universal