念念不忘 – Bilingual Lyrics Chinese/English

• By: 麥浚龍

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the depths of Cantonese expression with 麥浚龍's “念念不忘,” a song that masterfully conveys themes of longing and remembrance. Through vivid lyrics and heartfelt delivery, discover how the Cantonese language can paint intricate portraits of lingering emotions and the passage of time. This song is a great example of how music can help you understand the emotional nuances of the Cantonese language.

[English]

Ten years have passed, yet I still act like a girl

Every night you and I still meet, chasing dreams

Gifting you Hello Kitty toys, today turned into jasmine perfume

Your smile remains warm as ever

Kept in your comic books, that beautiful fairy partner of the past

Like a flood of youth, now impossible to pursue

That story ended suddenly, and before breathless, it was buried

Teaching us both to carry an unspoken spell in our hearts that we can't release

Let’s check if the other is safe today

Even if we meet as strangers in the crowd, I still sneak a look while you sleep on Facebook

...

Since that goodbye, has my life stalled?

Even if I finally accepted fate and met her

I believe we’ll meet again someday, just please don’t like her

You and I will go home in each other's arms from now on

Actually, you’re like a painting, painfully hanging on this old heart

Is life not going smoothly? Just stare at this painted opal flower

That story ended suddenly, and before breathless, it was buried

Teaching us both to carry an unspoken spell in our hearts that we can't release

Let’s check if the other is safe today

Even if we meet as strangers in the crowd, you still look as beautiful as first love in my memories

Kissed for twenty years without cold, left for sixty still hot

With you, like being under an old spell, cast low

Every night I think of the other

Who would say that such nostalgia will surely glow again

Actually, just let me keep recalling someone, and it will shine brightly

Everyone also asks

The secret to everlasting love—only grand departure can make it legendary

You haven't forgotten, I haven't forgotten, better than just being by my side

That story ended suddenly, and before breathless, it was buried

Only then did the unspoken spell in our hearts become unbreakable

Let’s check if the other is well every day

Even if we meet as strangers, I fear I won’t stop missing you in this life

Lingering, unwilling to cross over to the other side

...

[Chinese]

十年又過去 舉止仍像少女

你跟我每夜仍聚聚 到夢裡追

贈你哈囉吉蒂那玩具 這天早變作茉莉香水

你的笑 卻是照舊和煦

留在你漫畫書裡 當初那美麗神仙伴侶

就像那青春洪水 現在已經不可能追

那故事倉猝結束不到氣絕便已安葬

教兩人心裡有道不解的咒沒法釋放

讓我們打聽對方今天過得一切平安

縱使相見已是路人茫茫 臉書等愛侶入睡卻偷看

自離別剎那 今生停頓了嗎

縱使我最後曾認命 邂逅了她

但信一天總會再遇吧 我想聽你說別喜歡她

你跟我 以後抱著回家

其實你是一幅畫 狠狠往這舊人心上掛

現實過得不順嗎 定定望向這畫中曇花

那故事倉猝結束不到氣絕便已安葬

教兩人心裡有道不解的咒沒法釋放

讓我們打聽對方今天過得一切平安

縱使相見已是路人茫茫 記憶中你仍像初戀好看

吻過二十年還未寒 離去六十年仍熱燙

共你就似被舊情下了降 像下了降

每晚都想起對方

誰亦會講 假使那樣懷念必會再次有迴光

其實只要 讓我耿耿某人思憶早閃閃發光

個個也探問

愛戀不老的秘方 唯獨壯烈離座可百世流芳

你未忘 我未忘 猶勝伴在旁

那故事倉猝結束不到氣絕便已安葬

才成就心裡那道不解的咒沒法釋放

讓我們打聽對方天天過得一切平安

縱使相見已是路人茫茫 這生恐怕會念念你不放

流連著不想過對岸

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
少女 /ˈʃaʊ.nv̩/ B1	noun - young girl
玩具 /ˈtʰwɐnˌd͡ʑy/ A2	noun - toy
茉莉 /mɔli/ B2	noun - jasmine
香水 /ɕjɑ́ŋ ʂwèi/ B1	noun - perfume
漫画 /màn huà/ B1	noun - comic
神仙 /ʃə̌n ɕjɑn/ B2	noun - immortal; supernatural being
伴侣 /bàn lǚ/ B2	noun - companion; partner
青春 /ˈt͡ɕʰin ʂwən/ B1	noun - youth; springtime of life
故事 /ˈɡuːʃ/ A2	noun - story; tale
結束 /d͡ʑɪɛ ʂu/ B1	verb - to end; to finish
心裡 /sīn lǐ/ A2	noun - heart; mind
咒 /d͡ʒoʊ/ B2	noun - curse; spell
釋放 /ʂɨ̀ fàŋ/ B2	verb - to release; to liberate
平安 /pʰǐŋ án/ A2	adjective - safe and sound
路人 /lù rén/ A2	noun - passerby; stranger
茫茫 /mɑ̌ŋ mɑ̌ŋ/ B2	adjective - vast; boundless
離別 /lí bié/ B2	verb - to part; to leave
剎那 /chà nà/ B2	noun - instant; moment
停頓 /tʰǐŋ dwən/ B2	verb - pause; stop
認命 /rèn mìng/ C1	verb - to accept fate; to resign oneself to fate
邂逅 /ɕjɛ̀ hòu/ C1	verb - meet by chance

Key Grammar Structures

• 縱使相見已是路人茫茫

  ➔ 縱使...也 / even if... still

  ➔ This expression indicates a concession or contrast, meaning 'even if' or 'although'.

• 就像那青春洪水

  ➔ 就像...一样 / just like

  ➔ This structure is used for similes, comparing one thing to another for emphasis.

• 每晚都想起對方

  ➔ 都 / all, every

  ➔ The particle '都' emphasizes the habitual or consistent nature of an action performed daily.

• 才成就心裡那道不解的咒

  ➔ 才 / only then / only after

  ➔ '才' is used to indicate that something happens only after a specific condition or time.

• 教兩人心裡有道不解的咒沒法釋放

  ➔ 有...的 / have... (possessive or descriptive)

  ➔ This structure indicates possession or existence of a certain quality or thing; here, it emphasizes that the 'curse' exists within their hearts.

• 記憶中你仍像初戀好看

  ➔ 像... / like

  ➔ This is a simile, using '像' to compare the person's appearance or presence to their early love's appearance.

• 讓我們打聽對方今天過得一切平安

  ➔ 讓... / let... / cause to

  ➔ This construction is used to express causing or allowing an action to happen, here meaning 'let us ask about...'.