蓦然回首

驀然回首

mòrán huíshǒu

quotation

Meanings

1 suddenly turning to look back
2 looking back all of a sudden (at the past)

Characters

Examples

HSK 4

蓦然回首，我才发现他一直站在我身后。

Mòrán huíshǒu, wǒ cái fāxiàn tā yìzhí zhàn zài wǒ shēnhòu.

Turning around suddenly, I realized he had been standing behind me all along.

HSK 4

蓦然回首，离开家乡已经二十年了。

Mòrán huíshǒu, líkāi jiāxiāng yǐjīng èrshí nián le.

Looking back, I suddenly realize it's been twenty years since I left home.

Tips

history

From Xin Qiji's Lantern Festival ci 《青玉案·元夕》: 众里寻他千百度，蓦然回首，那人却在灯火阑珊处, 'I searched the crowd for her a thousand times; then, turning suddenly, there she was, where the lanterns had burned low'. 王国维 made it the third and highest stage of any great achievement: the answer found after long search.

usage

Today it opens a sentence about a sudden discovery or about looking back on years gone by. 蓦然 'suddenly' is literary; 回首 'to look back'.

Stroke Order

蓦 mò

然 rán

回 huí

首 shǒu