以孤獨命名 – Bilingual Lyrics Chinese/English

• By: Ian 陳卓賢
• Album: Chapter 3

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the heartfelt world of Hong Kong Cantopop with Ian Chan's "以孤獨命名" (Named by Solitude). This powerful ballad offers a rich tapestry of emotion and poetic lyrics, making it an excellent song for language learners. By exploring its themes of loneliness and the fragility of relationships, you can deepen your understanding of Cantonese vocabulary and expressions used to convey complex human feelings, all while appreciating the beauty of its melancholic melody and Ian's expressive vocals.

[English]

Starting to fall apart

The hotel we dated at, the platform we met by chance

Tear it all down

Tear down the patience, tear down the waiting

Sobbing, touching up my makeup, can't recall a love

Foolishly, I shrug, standing outside the theater

The program, just a rough sketch

Looking at that fake, yet very real, you and me

Like a comedy show lasting thousands of minutes

After the show, prop white horse, cardboard church, make way, don't take up space

Tear it down, regardless of its original beauty

I don't have the energy to build sets anymore

But among the dispersing audience, you brushed past me

Streetlights shine down

The story lacks foreshadowing, the ending lacks a future

So I'm spacing out

Remember where I am, remember you're not here

In the empty carriage, waiting for a love that won't arrive

How to act, how to write, a flood of reviews reprinted

Why bother tearing my heart open?

Looking at that fake, yet very real, you and me

Like a comedy show lasting thousands of minutes

After the show, prop white horse, cardboard church, make way, don't take up space

Tear it down, regardless of its original beauty

I don't have the energy to build sets anymore

But among the dispersing audience, you brushed past me

Even if it hurts, I have to dismantle it

To hand over the venue as soon as possible

In the next show, I'll know how to control myself, the theme won't be you

This phase of life is named Loneliness, handled with Confusion

I know I'll have to give up one day

Foolish me, I like you

Faking chemistry, faking sweetness, what kind of show is this?

Can't I just stand on stage and fabricate you and me?

Afraid that when I wake up, I'll die

[Chinese]

開始塌下來

約會那個飯店 偶遇那個月台

通通拆下來

拆下了忍耐 拆下了等待

哽咽的 補補妝 想不起有段愛

癡心的 聳聳肩 站在劇場之外

場刊 只得 大概

看著那假得很真的我跟你

似是套幾千分鐘的搞笑戲

完場後 道具白馬 紙板教堂 讓路別佔地

拆掉了不管它本身美不美

我沒有再搭過佈景的心機

偏偏觀眾散 於身邊擦過 是你

街燈照下來

故事欠缺伏線 結局欠缺未來

因此發著呆

記住我所在 記住你不在

空空的 車廂中 等不到某段愛

該怎演 該怎寫 大量劇評轉載

何苦 將心 挖開

看著那假得很真的我跟你

似是套幾千分鐘的搞笑戲

完場後 道具白馬 紙板教堂 讓路別佔地

拆掉了不管它本身美不美

我沒有再搭過佈景的心機

偏偏觀眾散 於身邊擦過 是你

再痛 都得拆卸

為了要盡快交場地

下套戲我要懂收放自如 題目別寫你

這段人生 以孤獨命名 以糊塗處理

我知我有日要放棄

愚蠢的我 喜歡你

偽造默契 偽造甜蜜 做場甚麼戲

不可以嗎 企在台前面 虛構我共你

怕自己 醒來時 會死

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
開始 /kaɪˈʃɣʊ/ A2	verb - to begin
拆 /tʂa/ B1	verb - to dismantle, to tear down
忍耐 /rěn nài/ B2	noun - patience, endurance
等待 /děng dài/ A2	verb - to wait
世界 /shì jiè/ B1	noun - world
劇場 /jùchǎng/ B2	noun - theater
愛 /ài/ A1	noun - love
假 /jiǎ/ B1	adjective - fake, false
情感 /qíng gǎn/ B2	noun - emotion, feeling
未來 /wèi lái/ B1	noun - future
痛 /tòng/ A2	noun - pain
放棄 /fàng qì/ B2	verb - to give up
自由 /zì yóu/ B1	noun - freedom, liberty
孤獨 /gū dú/ B2	noun - loneliness, solitude

Key Grammar Structures

• 開始塌下來

  ➔ Use of the verb '開始' + verb in the form of '塌下來' (indicating start of an action).

  ➔ '開始' means 'to start' and is combined with the verb '塌下來' (to collapse or fall down) indicating the action begins to happen.

• 通通拆下來

  ➔ Use of '通通' with a verb to indicate 'all' or 'completely'.

  ➔ '通通' emphasizes that everything is being completely or entirely done.

• 哽咽的 補補妝

  ➔ Use of '的' for descriptive modifier, and '補補妝' indicating 'touching up makeup'.

  ➔ '的' functions as a possessive or descriptive marker, linking '哽咽的' (choked with emotion) with '補補妝' (touching up makeup).

• 似是套幾千分鐘的搞笑戲

  ➔ Use of '似是' + noun + '的' + noun to form a comparison phrase (it seems like).

  ➔ '似是' means 'seems like' or 'appears to be', used here to compare the situation to a 'funny play spanning thousands of minutes'.

• 完場後 道具白馬 紙板教堂 讓路别佔地

  ➔ Use of '後' to indicate 'after', followed by noun phrases, and imperative sentence for 'let the way'.

  ➔ '後' means 'after' or 'following', and the phrase describes the removal of props like 'white horse' and 'paper church', with an imperative to give way.

• 我沒有再搭過佈景的心機

  ➔ Use of '沒有再' + verb to indicate 'have not again' or 'never again' doing something.

  ➔ '沒有再' means 'have not done again' or 'never again', showing that the speaker no longer invests effort or emotion in the scenery setup.