📖 Meaning
To feel like old friends upon first meeting. It describes an instant rapport and deep connection between people who have just met, as if they had known each other for years.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase traces back to the 'Zuo Zhuan' (Commentary of Zuo), a classical chronicle from the Spring and Autumn period, where it is recorded that upon meeting Zichan, one felt 'like an old acquaintance.' The expression was later popularized in the Song dynasty by Zhang Ji in his 'Jia Shi Tan Lu,' which recounts that when the Tang-era official Li Bi (Duke of Ye) served as chancellor, the Wu scholar Gu Kuang visited Chang'an, and Li Bi felt an immediate bond with him as though they were old friends. Over time, the phrase became a common idiom for instant mutual affinity.
💡 Example Usage
他们俩一见如故，谈得十分投机。
The two of them hit it off like old friends the moment they met and had a very engaging conversation.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 一见如故
- Pinyin: yī jiàn rú gù
- Literal Translation: one, see, like, old friend
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4