📖 Meaning
A metaphor for the deep love and care parents have for their children. It evokes the image of an old cow affectionately licking its newborn calf. The phrase emphasizes the natural, tender bond between parent and child.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the 'Book of Later Han' (后汉书), in the Biography of Yang Biao. Yang Biao was a scholar-official whose son, Yang Xiu, was executed by the warlord Cao Cao. When Emperor Xian of Han noticed Yang Biao had grown thin and asked the reason, Yang Biao replied with sorrow, 'I still harbor the old cow's love of licking its calf' (犹怀老牛舐犊之爱). This heartfelt confession expressed a father's enduring grief and love for his lost son, and the phrase became a lasting metaphor for parental devotion.
💡 Example Usage
看到女儿病倒在床，父亲寸步不离地照顾，舐犊情深令人动容。
Seeing his daughter bedridden with illness, the father stayed by her side without leaving; such deep parental devotion was truly moving.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 舐犊情深
- Pinyin: shì dú qíng shēn
- Literal Translation: lick, calf, affection, deep
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4