無力挽回 – Bilingual Lyrics Chinese/English

• By: 周柏豪
• Album: Imperfect Collection

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the poignant story behind 周柏豪's “無力挽回,” a touching Cantopop ballad about love, loss, and remembrance. This song offers a glimpse into Cantonese culture and the emotional depth of its music, making it a unique opportunity to learn the language through heartfelt expression.

[English]

Looping a song until I cry

A bottle of alcohol, half-drunk into sleep

This miserable feeling is too burdensome

Words like flowers cover up the fear

You are dying from my memories

Turning scars into toys for you

Staying in the past, chasing after even the unbearable

Stopping there, where it makes you even more empty

Yet you willingly reside there

If you can't salvage it, learn to let go

The departed can never be possessed again

Still, in the days to come, learn to cherish

For the sake of those who love you, don't make them suffer

Avenge what you've already lost

Making it hard for parents to mourn their only child

Unable to turn back time, don't add to the guilt

Calling grief in dying moments romantic

Turning into misanthropy, unable to not slap myself

How can I bear to watch you decay?

Regret is too late, weeping isn't brave enough

The past is done, don't try to overturn it

From now on, don't let regrets repeat

If you can't salvage it, learn to let go

The departed can never be possessed again

Still, in the days to come, learn to cherish

For the sake of those who love you, don't make them suffer

Avenge what you've already lost

Making it hard for parents to mourn their only child

Unable to turn back time, then find an exit

If in the process, you can understand another kind of blessing

Bow down and accept this changing life with a smile, it won't hurt so much

Lost too much, hoping for better

Who carved this pair of hands for love?

Unable to shake off the sorrow after the extreme pain

Who wants to jump out the window when scolded?

Didn't think about the consequences in that moment of anger

If you feel like you've reached the end of the world

It's too early to abandon your friends

Unable to turn back time, there's still something in front of you

If you don't leave

...

[Chinese]

循環一首歌曲聽到要落淚

一樽酒精乾了半入睡

慘戚戚的感覺太累贅

遺言筆筆生花遮蓋了恐懼

有個你從回憶中死去

傷口瘡疤給你當玩具

留在過去 不堪追的也要追

停在那裡 那裡令你更空虛

你卻偏偏甘心寄居

如無力挽回要懂得放手

逝別了的人再不可擁有

仍能在往後日子學懂珍惜

念在愛你的 別叫他難受

為你已經失去了的復仇

難為父母親哀悼命中僅有

無力讓光陰折返 別徒添內疚

彌留悲哀之中可以叫浪漫

變了厭世無法不掌摑

怎麼忍心觀看你腐爛

遺憾已晚 哭泣聲不夠壯膽

前事已過 你也別妄想推翻

從今開始不讓憾事循環

如無力挽回要懂得放手

逝別了的人再不可擁有

仍能在往後日子學懂珍惜

念在愛你的 別叫他難受

為你已經失去了的復仇

難為父母親哀悼命中僅有

無力讓光陰折返 便尋個出口

如能在過程裡 參悟另一種祝福

彎彎腰笑納這段變幻人生 不會那樣痛

賠了太好 期待更好

誰人為愛情劃穿這對手

在劇痛之餘戒不掉哀愁

誰人被痛斥就想跳出窗口

盛怒那秒鐘 沒有想然後

若你覺得走到世間盡頭

時辰未夠早拋下良朋密友

無力讓光陰折返 面前一樣有

若然你不走

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
循環 (xúnhuán) /ɕy̌n.xwǎn/ B2	verb - to circulate; to cycle noun - cycle; circulation
落淚 (luòlèi) /lwô.lèi/ B2	verb - to shed tears; to weep
酒精 (jiǔjīng) /tɕjòʊ.tɕiŋ/ B1	noun - alcohol
入睡 (rùshuì) /ʐû.ʂwèi/ B2	verb - to fall asleep
感覺 (gǎnjué) /kǎn.tɕɥě/ A2	noun - feeling; sense verb - to feel; to perceive
累贅 (léizhui) /léi.ʈʂwéi/ B2	adjective - burdensome; cumbersome; a burden
遺言 (yíyán) /ǐ.jǎn/ B2	noun - last words; testament
遮蓋 (zhēgài) /ʈ͡ʂɤ́.kâɪ/ B2	verb - to cover; to conceal
恐懼 (kǒngjù) /kʰʊ̀ŋ.t͡ɕɥ̀/ B2	noun - fear; dread
回憶 (huíyì) /xwěɪ.î/ B1	noun - memory; recollection verb - to recall; to recollect
傷口 (shāngkǒu) /ʂáŋ.kʰòʊ/ B1	noun - wound; cut
瘡疤 (chuāngbā) /ʈ͡ʂʰwáŋ.pá/ B2	noun - scar
挽回 (wǎnhuí) /wàn.xwěɪ/ B2	verb - to retrieve; to redeem; to save
放手 (fàngshǒu) /fâŋ.ʂòʊ/ B1	verb - to let go; to release; to give up
逝別 (shìbié) /ʂî.pjě/ C1	verb - to pass away; to part forever
珍惜 (zhēnxī) /ʈ͡ʂə́n.ɕí/ B1	verb - to cherish; to treasure
復仇 (fùchóu) /fû.ʈʂʰǒʊ/ B2	verb - to avenge; to revenge
哀悼 (āidào) /áɪ.tâʊ/ C1	verb - to mourn; to grieve
內疚 (nèijiù) /nêɪ.tɕjôʊ/ B2	noun - guilty conscience; remorse
厭世 (yànshì) /jɛ̂n.ʂî/ C1	adjective - pessimistic; world-weary; misanthropic
腐爛 (fǔlàn) /fǔ.lân/ B2	verb - to rot; to decompose
遺憾 (yíhàn) /ǐ.xân/ B2	noun - regret; pity
哭泣 (kūqì) /kʰú.t͡ɕʰî/ B1	verb - to cry; to weep
壯膽 (zhuàngdǎn) /ʈ͡ʂwâŋ.tǎn/ B2	verb - to embolden; to pluck up courage
妄想 (wàngxiǎng) /wâŋ.ɕjǎŋ/ C1	verb - to indulge in fantasy; to delusion
參悟 (cānwù) /tsʰán.û/ C1	verb - to comprehend; to understand profoundly
祝福 (zhùfú) /ʈ͡ʂû.fǔ/ B1	noun - blessing verb - to wish well; to bless
變幻 (biànhuàn) /pjân.xwân/ B2	adjective - changeable; fluctuating; unpredictable
劇痛 (jùtòng) /t͡ɕŷ.tʰôŋ/ B2	noun - severe pain; acute pain
哀愁 (āichóu) /áɪ.ʈ͡ʂʰǒʊ/ C1	noun - melancholy; sorrow
痛斥 (tòngchì) /tʰôŋ.ʈ͡ʂʰî/ C1	verb - to severely criticize; to denounce
盛怒 (shèngnù) /ʂêŋ.nû/ C1	noun - great fury; extreme anger
盡頭 (jìntóu) /t͡ɕîn.tʰǒʊ/ B2	noun - end; extremity; limit
拋下 (pāoxià) /pʰáʊ.ɕjâ/ B2	verb - to abandon; to throw away

Key Grammar Structures

• 如無力挽回要懂得放手

  ➔ Conditional clause

  ➔ The phrase "如無力挽回" sets a condition for the action that follows.

• 逝別了的人再不可擁有

  ➔ Negative form

  ➔ The phrase "再不可擁有" uses a negative form to express impossibility.

• 仍能在往後日子學懂珍惜

  ➔ Future tense

  ➔ The phrase "仍能在往後日子" indicates an action that will happen in the future.

• 難為父母親哀悼命中僅有

  ➔ Complex sentence

  ➔ The phrase "難為父母親哀悼" is a complex sentence that conveys multiple ideas.

• 彌留悲哀之中可以叫浪漫

  ➔ Passive voice

  ➔ The phrase "可以叫浪漫" uses passive voice to express a state of being.

• 誰人為愛情劃穿這對手

  ➔ Interrogative sentence

  ➔ The phrase "誰人為愛情" is an interrogative sentence asking about a subject.

• 若你覺得走到世間盡頭

  ➔ Conditional clause

  ➔ The phrase "若你覺得" introduces a condition for the following statement.