📖 Meaning
"Clear dust" metaphorically refers to another person, while "muddy water" refers to oneself. It describes two people separated by a great distance with no hope of ever meeting again.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the poem "Seven Sorrows" (《七哀诗》) by Cao Zhi of the Wei state during the Three Kingdoms period. The poem reads: "You are like clear road dust, I am like muddy water; floating and sinking in different ways, when shall we ever meet in harmony?" Cao Zhi used the contrast between light, drifting dust and heavy, sinking mud to express the grief of lovers forever separated. Over time, the image was condensed into the four-character idiom for people separated beyond any hope of reunion.
💡 Example Usage
分别多年，你我如清尘浊水，再难相见。
After years apart, you and I are like clear dust and muddy water—unlikely ever to meet again.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 清尘浊水
- Pinyin: qīng chén zhuó shuǐ
- Literal Translation: clear, dust, muddy, water
- Category: Distance
- Characters: 4