一剪梅 – Bilingual Lyrics Chinese/English

• By: 費玉清

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the timeless beauty of Fei Yu-ching's "一剪梅" (Yi Jian Mei), a classic Mandarin love song whose lyrics, rich with imagery of enduring plum blossoms in winter, can offer a poetic window into themes of steadfast love and resilience. Learning this song allows you to connect with a piece of Chinese pop culture that has resonated across decades, even finding new life through global internet trends.

[English]

True love is as vast as the prairie.

Storms and rain can't block it.

There will always be a time when the clouds part and the sun rises.

Brilliant sunlight shines on you and me.

True love has blossomed like plum blossoms.

Even freezing snow can't drown it.

It blooms right on the coldest branch.

We see spring coming toward you and me.

Snowflakes drift, the north wind moans.

The world and sky stretch out in a vast desolation.

A single plum blossom stands proudly in the snow.

Its fragrance wafts only for the one I love.

Love the one I love, with no regrets.

This feeling will stay in my heart for a long time.

Snowflakes drift, the north wind moans.

The world and sky stretch out in a vast desolation.

A single plum blossom stands proudly in the snow.

Only for you, my beloved, does its fragrance drift.

Love the one I love, with no regrets.

This feeling will stay in my heart for a long time.

...

[Chinese]

真情像草原广阔

层层风雨不能阻隔

总有云开日出时候

万丈阳光照耀你我

真情像梅花开过

冷冷冰雪不能淹没

就在最冷枝头绽放

看见春天走向你我

雪花飘飘 北风萧萧

天地一片苍茫

一剪寒梅 傲立雪中

只为伊人飘香

爱我所爱 无怨无悔

此情 长留 心间

雪花飘飘 北风萧萧

天地一片苍茫

一剪寒梅 傲立雪中

只为 伊人 飘香

爱我所爱 无怨无悔

此情 长留 心间

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
真情 zhēn qíng /tʂən⁵⁵ tɕʰiŋ³⁵/ B1	noun - true feeling; sincere love
草原 cǎo yuán /tsʰɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻⁵⁵ jyɛn⁵⁵/ B1	noun - grassland; prairie
广阔 guǎng kuò /kʷɑŋ⁵¹⁻⁵¹ kʰwo⁵¹/ B2	adjective - vast; expansive
风雨 fēng yǔ /fəŋ⁵⁵ yʏ³⁵/ B2	noun - wind and rain; hardships
阻隔 zǔ gé /tsu⁽⁵³⁾ kɤ⁽⁵³⁾/ C1	verb - to block; to separate; to hinder
阳光 yáng guāng /jɑŋ⁵⁵ kwaŋ⁵⁵/ A2	noun - sunlight
照耀 zhào yào /tʂɑʊ̯⁵¹ jaʊ̯⁵¹/ C1	verb - to illuminate; to shine upon
梅花 méi huā /mei̯⁵⁵ xuɑ⁵⁵/ B1	noun - plum blossom
冰雪 bīng xuě /piŋ⁵⁵ ɕyɛ³⁵/ B2	noun - ice and snow
雪花 xuě huā /ɕyɛ³⁵ xuɑ⁵⁵/ A2	noun - snowflake
北风 běi fēng /pei̯³⁵ fəŋ⁵⁵/ B2	noun - north wind
苍茫 cāng máng /tsʰɑŋ⁵⁵ mɑŋ⁵⁵/ C1	adjective - desolate; vast and misty
寒梅 hán méi /xæn⁵¹ mei̯⁵⁵/ C1	noun - winter plum (cold plum)
傲立 ào lì /ɑʊ̯⁵¹ li⁽⁵³⁾/ C2	verb - to stand proudly; to tower aloof
伊人 yī rén /i⁽⁵⁵⁾ ʐən⁽³⁵⁾/ C2	noun - the beloved woman; a beautiful lady
爱 ài /aɪ⁵⁵/ A1	noun - love; affection verb - to love
无怨 wú yuàn /u³⁵ jyɛn⁵⁵/ C1	adjective - without complaint; ungrudging
长留 cháng liú /ʈʂɑŋ⁵⁵ liou⁽⁵³⁾/ C2	verb - to stay for a long time; to remain
心间 xīn jiān /ɕin⁵⁵ tɕjɛn⁵⁵/ C1	noun - inside the heart; in one’s mind
春天 chūn tiān /ʈʂʰwən⁵⁵ tʰjɛn⁵⁵/ A2	noun - spring (season)

Key Grammar Structures

• 真情像草原广阔

  ➔ Simile with 像 + noun phrase (no 的)

  ➔ The word "像" is used to compare "真情" with "草原广阔", forming a simile: "真情像草原广阔" (Love is as vast as a prairie).

• 层层风雨不能阻隔

  ➔ 不能 + verb (cannot) + adverbial reduplication 层层 (repeating modifier)

  ➔ Here "不能" expresses inability: "层层风雨不能阻隔" means "the repeated wind and rain cannot block (us)." The reduplication "层层" intensifies the noun "风雨".

• 总有云开日出时候

  ➔ 总有 + noun (there is always) + 时间词 + 时候 (time clause)

  ➔ The phrase "总有" means "there is always". Combined with "云开日出时候" (the moment when clouds open and the sun rises), it forms a temporal clause: "总有云开日出时候" — "There is always a time when the clouds part and the sun rises".

• 万丈阳光照耀你我

  ➔ Subject + verb + pronoun pair 你我 (dual pronoun without preposition)

  ➔ The verb "照耀" (to shine on) takes the dual pronoun "你我" directly: "万丈阳光照耀你我" – "The towering sunlight shines on you and me".

• 真情像梅花开过

  ➔ Verb + 过 (experiential perfective aspect) after a verb phrase

  ➔ The particle "过" after "开" indicates that the plum blossoms have opened at least once: "真情像梅花开过" – "True love is like plum blossoms that have bloomed (in the past)".

• 就在最冷枝头绽放

  ➔ 就在 + location phrase (emphatic "right at") + verb without explicit subject

  ➔ The adverbial "就在" emphasizes the exact spot "最冷枝头" (the coldest branch tip). The verb "绽放" (to bloom) lacks an explicit subject, implying the plum blossoms themselves.

• 看见春天走向你我

  ➔ Verb + object + directional complement 走向 (walk towards) + pronoun pair 你我

  ➔ The construction "走向" indicates direction: "看见春天走向你我" means "to see spring walking towards you and me".

• 只为伊人飘香

  ➔ 只为 + purpose clause (only for) + verb phrase without explicit subject

  ➔ "只为" introduces a purpose: "只为伊人飘香" means "only for the beloved to exude fragrance". The subject (the plum) is omitted but understood.

• 爱我所爱 无怨无悔

  ➔ Relative clause with 所 + noun (the thing that) + idiomatic pair 无怨无悔 (no regret)

  ➔ "我所爱" is a relative clause meaning "the one I love". Combined with "爱" it forms "爱我所爱" – "love the one I love". "无怨无悔" is an idiom meaning "without complaint or remorse".