📖 Meaning
Literally describing a pair of birds that perch and roost together. It is a metaphor for a devoted couple who are inseparable, spending their lives side by side like mandarin ducks on a pond.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Song dynasty scholar You Mao's work 'Quan Tang Shi Hua' (Talks on Complete Tang Poetry), volume six, which quotes a poem comparing oneself to mandarin ducks: 'Better to be mandarin ducks on a pond, roosting and flying together for a lifetime.' In Chinese culture, mandarin ducks symbolize faithful, inseparable lovers. The Ming dynasty playwright Ye Xianzu later employed the phrase in his play 'Luanbi Ji' (The Phoenix Hairpin Tale) to depict a well-matched couple.
💡 Example Usage
他们结婚三十年来双栖双宿，从未分开过。
Married for thirty years, they have lived side by side and never once been apart.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 双栖双宿
- Pinyin: shuāng qī shuāng sù
- Literal Translation: pair, roost, pair, lodge
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4