📖 Meaning
This idiom refers to a person's voice, facial features, and cheerful expression, especially when recalling someone who has passed away. It evokes the vivid memory of how the deceased looked and sounded in life. It is most often used in eulogies and memorial writings to express longing for the departed.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase traces back to 'Mencius: Li Lou I' (《孟子·离娄上》), a Warring States period text. Mencius argued that true reverence and frugality cannot be achieved merely through one's voice and smiling demeanor. Over the centuries, the expression '音容笑貌' narrowed in usage to denote the voice, appearance, and mannerisms of someone who has died. Today it appears frequently in obituaries and tributes honoring the memory of the deceased.
💡 Example Usage
祖父去世多年，他的音容笑貌依然清晰地留在我的记忆中。
Years have passed since my grandfather died, yet his voice and smile remain vividly etched in my memory.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 音容笑貌
- Pinyin: yīn róng xiào mào
- Literal Translation: sound, appearance, smile, demeanor
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4