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独酌无相亲

獨酌無相親
dú zhuó wú xiāngqīn
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 drinking alone with no companion at hand
  2. 2 (fig.) a celebrated image of poetic solitude
  3. 3 (lit.) drink-alone, no one close

Examples

HSK 4
出差住在外地，晚饭时感到独酌无相亲。
Chūchāi zhù zài wàidì, wǎnfàn shí gǎndào dúzhuówúxiāngqīn.
Away on business, at dinner I felt the mood of 'drinking alone, no one near.'
HSK 6
深夜他一个人在酒馆，正是独酌无相亲。
Shēnyè tā yí ge rén zài jiǔguǎn, zhèngshì dúzhuówúxiāngqīn.
Late at night he sat alone in the tavern - truly 'drinking alone with no companion.'

Tips

history
From Li Bai's 《月下独酌》 four poems (Drinking Alone Under the Moon, Tang, c. 744): 花间一壶酒，独酌无相亲。举杯邀明月，对影成三人 (Among the flowers, a jug of wine - I drink alone, no one near. I raise my cup to invite the bright moon - with my shadow, we are three). Li Bai then dances with moon and shadow in the iconic conceit of Chinese solitary wine poetry.
usage
酌 reads zhuó, not the common zhuō/zhuò confusion; it specifically means 'to pour / drink wine.' 相亲 here is the classical 'close companion,' not modern 相亲 ('matchmaking blind date'). Quote for any solo-drinking scene, bittersweet or defiantly self-sufficient.

Stroke Order

独 dú
酌 zhuó
无 wú
相 xiāng
亲 qīn