📖 Meaning
Originally a lament by a discarded wife about her husband's happiness with his new bride, the phrase later took on the opposite meaning of a celebratory wedding blessing. It describes the joyful bliss of newlyweds during their first days of marriage.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Classic of Poetry (诗经), specifically the Ode 'Gu Feng' (谷风) in the Bei Feng (邶风) section, which dates to the Western Zhou period. In its original context, a forsaken wife bitterly recalls how her husband and his new bride lived as happily as siblings, using '燕尔新婚' to express her grief. Over the centuries the meaning was reversed, and it became a common congratulatory expression for newlyweds. The Yuan dynasty playwright Dai Shanfu employed it in this positive sense in his play 'Feng Guang Hao' (风光好).
💡 Example Usage
他们新婚燕尔，整日形影不离，羡煞旁人。
Newlyweds blissfully in love, they were inseparable all day long, the envy of everyone around them.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 新婚燕尔
- Pinyin: xīn hūn yàn ěr
- Literal Translation: newly, married, joyous, just so
- Category: Lifestyle
- Characters: 4