花非花雾非雾 – Bilingual Lyrics Chinese/English

• By: 张睿

Lyrics & Translation

"花非花雾非雾" by Zhang Rui is a deeply emotional song that served as the theme for Qiong Yao's popular 2013 drama, "Flowers in Fog." Learning this song offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in Mandarin Chinese, especially its poetic expressions of love and heartbreak. The lyrics, penned by Qiong Yao herself, are rich with imagery and metaphors, drawing from classic Chinese poetry, making it an excellent piece to understand cultural nuances and emotional depth in the language.

[English]

Not a flower, not a mist

Not a flower, not dew

Not a mist

...

You tell me, viewing flowers in the mist is the most beautiful

You say to me, admiring flowers in the mist is the best

My carefree heart, from this moment I intoxicated for you

My romantic heart became infatuated because of you

When we are in love

How many beautiful memories we have

How many returns there are

When parting comes

When we say goodbye, only the pain remains

Only heartbreak is left

My eyes are filled with splendor, now only sorrow remains

Everywhere in my sight is flourishing, now there is only mourning

My confused heart has already turned to ice

Your once fiery heart has turned into a glacier

The broken footsteps have trampled the moonlight

In the sea of people, where are you?

I don’t know where you are among the crowd

Not a flower, not a mist

Not a flower, not dew

Why are you full of feelings yet seemingly indifferent?

How I hate that you have feelings but appear indifferent

Why am I so confused and lost?

Why am I so confused and lost?

How I hate that I am foolish and always lost

Not in solitude, rushing through the fog, like you I fly to you

No longer disappointing, I’ll fly quickly through the mist to be by your side

Holding hands we walk to the ends of the earth

Together we hold hands and go everywhere

My eyes are filled with splendor, now only sorrow remains

Everywhere in my sight is flourishing, now there is only mourning

My confused heart has already turned to ice

Your once fiery heart has turned into a glacier

The broken footsteps have trampled the moonlight

In the sea of people, where are you?

I don’t know where you are among the crowd

Not a flower, not a mist

Not a flower, not dew

Why are you full of feelings yet seemingly indifferent?

How I hate that you have feelings but appear indifferent

Why am I so confused and lost?

How I hate that I am foolish and always lost

Not in solitude, rushing through the fog, like you I fly to you

Not in solitude, rushing through the fog, like you I fly to you

No longer disappointing, I’ll fly quickly through the mist to be by your side

Holding hands we walk to the ends of the earth

Together we hold hands and go everywhere

Not a flower, not a mist

Why are you full of feelings yet seemingly indifferent?

Why are you full of feelings yet seemingly indifferent?

Why am I so confused and lost?

Why am I so confused and lost?

Not in solitude, rushing through the fog, like you I fly to you

Not in solitude, rushing through the fog, like you I fly to you

Holding hands we walk to the ends of the earth

Holding hands we walk to the ends of the earth

Together we hold hands and go everywhere

[Chinese]

Huā fēi huā, wù fēi wù

Không phải hoa chẳng phải sương

wù fēi wù

Nǐ gào sù wǒ, wù lǐ kàn huā zuì měi

Em nói với anh, ngắm hoa trong sương là đẹp nhất

Wǒ làng màn de xīn, cóng cǐ wèi nǐ táo zuì

Trái tim lãng mạn của anh từ đó vì em mà say đắm

Xiāng ài de shí hòu

Khi yêu nhau có bao nhiêu kỷ niệm đẹp

Yǒu duō shǎo huí wèi

Fēn shǒu de shí hòu

Đến khi chia tay chỉ còn lại nỗi đau xé lòng

Zhǐ shèng xià xīn suì

Mǎn yǎn fán huá, xiàn zài jìn shì cāng sāng

Khắp mắt đều là phồn hoa, giờ đây chỉ toàn là tang thương

Wǒ gǔn tàng de xīn, yǐ jīng jié chéng bīng shuāng

Trái tim nóng bỏng của anh đã kết thành băng giá

Luò pò de jiǎo bù, cǎi suì le yuè guāng

Bước chân hoảng loạn đã giẫm nát ánh trăng

Rén hǎi zhōng de nǐ, bù zhī zài hé fāng

Không biết em ở nơi đâu giữa biển người

Huā fēi huā, wù fēi wù

Không phải hoa chẳng phải sương

Hèn nǐ yǒu qíng xiàng wú qíng

Hận em hữu tình mà như vô tình

Hèn wǒ hú tú cháng mí lù

Hận anh hồ đồ luôn lạc lối

Bù zài gū fù, chōng pò mí wù, xiàng nǐ fēi bēn

Không còn phụ lòng, vượt qua sương mù bay nhanh đến bên em

Xié shǒu zǒu biàn tiān yá lù

Cùng nắm tay nhau đi khắp chân trời cuối đất

Mǎn yǎn fán huá, xiàn zài jìn shì cāng sāng

Khắp mắt đều là phồn hoa, giờ đây chỉ toàn là tang thương

Wǒ gǔn tàng de xīn, yǐ jīng jié chéng bīng shuāng

Trái tim nóng bỏng của anh đã kết thành băng giá

Luò pò de jiǎo bù, cǎi suì le yuè guāng

Bước chân hoảng loạn đã giẫm nát ánh trăng

Rén hǎi zhōng de nǐ, bù zhī zài hé fāng

Không biết em ở nơi đâu giữa biển người

Huā fēi huā, wù fēi wù

Không phải hoa chẳng phải sương

Hèn nǐ yǒu qíng xiàng wú qíng

Hận em hữu tình mà như vô tình

Hèn wǒ hú tú cháng mí lù

Hận anh hồ đồ luôn lạc lối

Bù zài gū fù, chōng pò mí wù, xiàng nǐ fēi bēn

Không còn phụ lòng, vượt qua sương mù bay nhanh đến bên em

Xié shǒu zǒu biàn tiān yá lù

Cùng nắm tay nhau đi khắp chân trời cuối đất

Huā fēi huā, wù fēi wù

Không phải hoa chẳng phải sương

Hèn nǐ yǒu qíng xiàng wú qíng

Hận em hữu tình mà như vô tình

Hèn wǒ hú tú cháng mí lù

Hận anh hồ đồ luôn lạc lối

Bù zài gū fù, chōng pò mí wù, xiàng nǐ fēi bēn

Không còn phụ lòng, vượt qua sương mù bay nhanh đến bên em

Xié shǒu zǒu biàn tiān yá lù

Cùng nắm tay nhau đi khắp chân trời cuối đất

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
flower /ˈflaʊər/ A1	noun - flower
mist /mɪst/ B1	noun - mist
heart /hɑːrt/ A1	noun - heart
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - love (affection) verb - to love
memory /ˈmɛməri/ B1	noun - memory
pain /peɪn/ B1	noun - pain, hurt verb - to hurt
ice /aɪs/ A2	noun - ice
moonlight /ˈmuːnlaɪt/ B2	noun - moonlight
sea /siː/ A1	noun - sea
hand /hænd/ A1	noun - hand
walk /wɔːk/ A1	verb - to walk
beautiful /ˈbjuːtɪfl/ A1	adjective - beautiful
cold /koʊld/ A1	adjective - cold
lost /lɒst/ A2	adjective - lost (unable to find the way)
together /təˈɡeðər/ A2	adverb - together

Key Grammar Structures

• Nǐ gào sù wǒ, wù lǐ kàn huā zuì měi

  ➔ Superlative construction with 最 + adjective

  ➔ The phrase "huā **zuì** měi" means "the flowers are **the most** beautiful".

• Wǒ làng màn de xīn, cóng cǐ wèi nǐ táo zuì

  ➔ 从此 + verb phrase to indicate a point in time from which something changes

  ➔ "**cóng cǐ** wèi nǐ" means "**from now on** for you".

• Xiāng ài de shí hòu

  ➔ Time clause using 的 + 时/时候

  ➔ "**de shí hòu**" forms a time clause meaning "when **loving**".

• Zhǐ shèng xià xīn suì

  ➔ 只 + verb phrase to express exclusivity (only)

  ➔ "**Zhǐ** shèng xià xīn suì" translates to "**Only** heartbroken remains".

• Mǎn yǎn fán huá, xiàn zài jìn shì cāng sāng

  ➔ Use of 现在 + verb to indicate a surprising/contrasting present state (竟是)

  ➔ "**xiàn zài** jìn shì **cāng sāng**" means "now it **actually is** bleak".

• Wǒ gǔn tàng de xīn, yǐ jīng jié chéng bīng shuāng

  ➔ 已经 + verb to indicate a completed action (perfect aspect)

  ➔ "**yǐ jīng** jié chéng bīng shuāng" = "**already** turned into ice".

• Luò pò de jiǎo bù, cǎi suì le yuè guāng

  ➔ Verb + 了 to indicate a completed action; 的 to nominalize adjectives

  ➔ "cǎi suì **le** yuè guāng" – **了** shows the action is finished: “crushed the moonlight”.

• Rén hǎi zhōng de nǐ, bù zhī zài hé fāng

  ➔ 不 + verb to express negation; 在 + location phrase to ask about place

  ➔ "**bù** zhī" means "**don't** know"; "zài hé fāng" asks "where".

• Hèn nǐ yǒu qíng xiàng wú qíng

  ➔ 像 + N/Noun phrase to make a comparison (like ... as ...)

  ➔ "xiàng **wú qíng**" means "like **no feeling**" – a comparison.