📖 Meaning
This idiom uses the mythical birds luán and fèng as a metaphor for a married couple or romantic partners. It describes the sorrowful situation of spouses or lovers being torn apart and separated from one another.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom is a variant of the more common expression 鸾凤分飞 (luán fèng fēn fēi). In Chinese mythology, the luán and the fèng are both auspicious phoenix-like birds that were traditionally paired together as symbols of marital harmony and conjugal devotion. When these symbolic birds are described as parting ways, it evokes the heartbreak of a couple being forcibly separated, most often by war, exile, or misfortune.
💡 Example Usage
战乱使他们鸾分凤离，多年后才得以重聚。
The war tore the couple apart, and it was only years later that they were able to reunite.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 鸾分凤离
- Pinyin: luán fēn fèng lí
- Literal Translation: mythical bird, phoenix, separate, part
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4