📖 Meaning
A strip of water as narrow as a sash or belt. It describes two places separated only by a thin river, lake, or sea, so the distance is short and no real obstacle to contact or travel. Often used of neighboring regions or countries across a waterway.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from the Biography of Chen Shubao, the last ruler of the Chen dynasty, in the History of the Southern Dynasties (《南史·陈后主纪》). When Emperor Wen of Sui (杨坚) prepared to cross the Yangtze and conquer the Chen in the south, he is recorded as saying, 'I am the father and mother of the people; how can I let a strip of water as narrow as a belt stop me from rescuing them?' In 589 the Sui armies crossed the river and destroyed the Chen, reunifying China after centuries of division.
💡 Example Usage
中日两国一衣带水，文化交流源远流长。
China and Japan are separated only by a narrow strip of water, and their cultural exchanges stretch back through the centuries.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 一衣带水
- Pinyin: yī yī dài shuǐ
- Literal Translation: one, clothing belt, water
- Category: Distance
- Characters: 4