呼吸有害 – Bilingual Lyrics Chinese/English

• By: 莫文蔚
• Album: 寶貝

Lyrics & Translation

“呼吸有害” (Breathing is Harmful) by Karen Mok is a deeply emotional Cantonese ballad that offers a powerful way to delve into the nuances of the language through its poignant lyrics and Karen Mok's captivating vocals. Listeners can explore how Cantonese expresses profound sadness and the lingering pain of lost love, making it a perfect song for language learners to connect with authentic emotional expression.

[English]

Oxygen deprivation feels like hallucination, weakly lying on the ground

Close my eyes, sensing impermanence with my skin

You were here, just out of my reach when I left

Your scent builds a wall around me

Start to breathe again, holding onto that lingering beauty

The bitterness I taste now was once the sweetest sweetness

Old things fill the air, every breath is harmful

You're by the bedside, you're in the hall, constantly appearing in my mind

Loneliness floods the air, depression comes in

I'd rather hold my breath, inhaling you stains my eyes

...

Struggling to stand again, voluntarily starting to learn

Adapting quickly to this cruel low pressure

Lacking the courage, afraid to lose you

Lacking the backbone to let my body and mind escape

Start to breathe again, that deadly breath

Filled with oxidized romance, addicted to this thought-provoking feeling

Old things fill the air, every breath is harmful

You're by the bedside, you're in the hall, constantly appearing in my mind

Loneliness floods the air, depression comes in

I'd rather hold my breath, inhaling you stains my eyes

Choking wouldn't be surprising, no breathing, no waiting

Don’t want you, don’t want you, I need to clear my mind

Try to stay strong, open every window

Not afraid of you, not afraid of you, afraid that breathing is harmful

...

[Chinese]

缺氧到似有幻象 乏力地躺於地上

合上雙眼用皮膚感應無常

這裡有過你 未及步離場

被你的氣味 築起了圍牆

從頭再呼吸 殘存那種美

現在嚐到的苦 從前是最動人甜味

舊事物充斥空氣內 一呼一吸都有害

床邊有你 廳有你 進出於腦海

寂寞充斥空氣內 抑鬱吸入來

寧願閉氣 吸進你會沾濕眼袋

勉強再試試站立 自願地展開學習

盡快適應著 殘忍的低氣壓

似欠缺勇氣 不敢失去你

亦欠骨氣讓 身心也逃離

從頭再呼吸 沉沉那死氣

滲滿氧化浪漫 沉迷在這耐人尋味

舊事物充斥空氣內 一呼一吸都有害

床邊有你 廳有你 進出於腦海

寂寞充斥空氣內 抑鬱吸入來

寧願閉氣 吸進你會沾濕眼袋

窒息都不意外 不呼不吸不盼待

不要你 不要你 要清空腦袋

盡量振作也應該 每一扇窗也打開

不怕你 不怕你 怕呼吸有害

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
缺氧 /quē yǎng/ C2	noun - hypoxia; oxygen deficiency
幻象 /huàn xiàng/ C2	noun - illusion; hallucination
躺 /tǎng/ A2	verb - to lie down
感應 /gǎn yìng/ C1	verb/noun - to sense; to respond; sensing
過你 /guò nǐ/ B2	verb - pass by you
氣味 /qìwèi/ B1	noun - smell; odor
圍牆 /wéi qiáng/ B2	noun - fence; wall
呼吸 /hūxī/ A2	verb/noun - to breathe; breathing
殘存 / cán cún/ C1	adjective/verb - remaining; residual
美 /měi/ A1	noun - beauty; beautiful thing
苦 /kǔ/ A2	noun/adj - bitter; hardship; suffering
甜味 /tián wèi/ B2	noun - sweet taste
充斥 /chōng chì/ C2	verb - to fill with; to flood
空氣 /kōng qì/ A1	noun - air; atmosphere
抑鬱 /yì yù/ B2	noun - depression; melancholy
閉氣 /bì qì/ B2	verb - to hold one's breath
沾濕 /zhān shī/ B2	verb - to get wet; to become damp
振作 /zhèn zuò/ B2	verb - to recover; to rally

Key Grammar Structures

• 缺氧到似有幻象

  ➔ Use of '似' to indicate similarity.

  ➔ The phrase means 'seems to have hallucinations due to lack of oxygen'.

• 合上雙眼用皮膚感應無常

  ➔ Use of '用' to indicate the means or method.

  ➔ This means 'close my eyes and sense the impermanence with my skin'.

• 從頭再呼吸 殘存那種美

  ➔ Use of '再' to indicate repetition.

  ➔ This means 'breathe again from the beginning, preserving that kind of beauty'.

• 寧願閉氣 吸進你會沾濕眼袋

  ➔ Use of '寧願' to express preference.

  ➔ This means 'I'd rather hold my breath than breathe in you, which will wet my eye bags'.

• 寂寞充斥空氣內 抑鬱吸入來

  ➔ Use of '充斥' to indicate something is filled with or permeated by.

  ➔ This means 'loneliness fills the air, and depression is inhaled'.

• 不要你 不要你 要清空腦袋

  ➔ Use of '不要' to express negation or rejection.

  ➔ This means 'I don't want you, I don't want you, I want to clear my mind'.