Fun Learning Chinese   /     Memories from a Flower Fragrance 對夜來香花香的記憶 in Chinese

Recently my Chinese tutor heard a song that reminded her of a major turning point in her life. She told me about it and I thought it was a beautiful story, well worth sharing.

You will find a version of the song to listen to after the story. Meanwhile, here is some vocabulary that will be helpful to review before getting to the story:

記憶	ㄐㄧˋ ㄧˋ	jì yì	to remember, to recall
回想	ㄏㄨㄟˊ ㄒㄧㄤˇ	huí xiǎng	to recall, to recollect
花香	ㄏㄨㄚ ㄒㄧㄤ	huā xiāng	flower fragrance
生命	ㄕㄥ ㄇㄧㄥˋ	shēng mìng	life
低潮期	ㄉㄧ ㄔㄠˊ ㄑㄧ	dī cháo qī	low period
生活	ㄕㄥ ㄏㄨㄛˊ	shēng huó	life, to live
壓力	ㄧㄚ ㄌㄧˋ	yā lì	pressure
心情	ㄒㄧㄣ ㄑㄧㄥˊ	xīn qíng	mood, frame of mind
苦悶	ㄎㄨˇ ㄇㄣˋ	kǔ mèn	depressed, dejected
仲夏	ㄓㄨㄥˋ ㄒㄧㄚˋ	zhòng xià	midsummer
獨自	ㄉㄨˊ ㄗˋ	dú zì	alone
解悶	ㄐㄧㄝˇ ㄇㄣˋ	jiě mèn	to relieve melancholy or boredom
拖著	ㄊㄨㄛ ㄓㄜ˙	tuō zhe.	dragging
沈重	ㄔㄣˊ ㄓㄨㄥˋ	chén zhòng	heavy
沈痛	ㄔㄣˊ ㄊㄨㄥˋ	chén tòng	ache
悲傷	ㄅㄟ ㄕㄤ	bēi shāng	sad, sorrowful
隨著	ㄙㄨㄟˊ ㄓㄜ˙	suí zhe.	to follow in the wake of, along with
清風	ㄑㄧㄥ ㄈㄥ	qīng fēng	cool breeze
迷人	ㄇㄧˊ ㄖㄣˊ	mí rén	fascinating, enchanting, charming
四處張望	ㄙㄧˋ ㄔㄨˋ ㄓㄤ ㄨㄤˋ	sì chù zhāng wàng	all over the place, everywhere
來處	ㄌㄞˊ ㄔㄨˋ	lái chù	source
芳香	ㄈㄤ ㄒㄧㄤ	fāng xiāng	pleasant fragrance, aromatic
剎那間	ㄔㄚˋ ㄋㄚˋ ㄐㄧㄢ	chà nà jiān	in an instant
領悟	ㄌㄧㄥˇ ㄨˋ	lǐng wù	to understand, to comprehend
神靈	ㄕㄣˊ ㄌㄧㄥˊ	shén líng	God, the spirit of God
無所不在	ㄨˊ ㄙㄨㄛˇ ㄅㄨˊ ㄗㄞˋ	wú suǒ bú zài	omnipresent
自然	ㄗˋ ㄖㄢˊ	zì rán	nature, natural
萬物	ㄨㄢˋ ㄨˋ	wàn wù	all living things
單獨	ㄉㄢ ㄉㄨˊ	dān dú	alone, by oneself
一念之間	ㄧˊ ㄋㄧㄢˋ ㄓ ㄐㄧㄢ	yí niàn zhī jiān	moment (time between thought)
勇氣	ㄩㄥˇ ㄑㄧˋ	yǒng qì	courage, valor
信心	ㄒㄧㄣˋ ㄒㄧㄣ	xìn xīn	confidence, faith (in something or somebody)
一切	ㄧˊ ㄑㄧㄝˋ	yí qiè	everything, all
賜予	ㄙˋ ㄩˇ	sì yǔ	to grant, to bestow
克服	ㄎㄜˋ ㄈㄨˊ	kè fú	to endure, to overcome
事隔多年	ㄕˋ ㄍㄜˊ ㄉㄨㄛ ㄋㄧㄢˊ	shì gé duō nián	that frame of time, that incident
依然	ㄧ ㄖㄢˊ	yī rán	still, as before
振奮	ㄓㄣˋ ㄈㄣˋ	zhèn fèn	to stir oneself, to inspire, to raise one's spirts
安慰	ㄢ ㄨㄟˋ	ān wèi	to comfort
奇蹟	ㄑㄧˊ ㄐㄧ	qí jī	miracle
深刻	ㄕㄣ ㄎㄜˋ	shēn kè	profound, deep
覺醒	ㄐㄩㄝˊ ㄒㄧㄥˇ	jué xǐng	to become aware, to awaken to the truth

幾天前我聽到了一首老歌「夜來香」，

(幾)(天)(前)(我)(聽到)(了)

(ㄐㄧˇ)(ㄊㄧㄢ)(ㄑㄧㄢˊ)(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄊㄧㄥ ㄉㄠˋ)(ㄌㄜ˙)

(jǐ)(tiān)(qián)(wǒ)(tīng dào)(le.)

(a few)(day)(in front)(I)(heard)(emphasize completion)

…..(一)(首)(老)(歌)「(夜來香)❶」，

…..(ㄧ)(ㄕㄡˇ)(ㄌㄠˇ)(ㄍㄜ)「(ㄧㄝˋ ㄌㄞˊ ㄒㄧㄤ)」

…..(yī)(shǒu)(lǎo)(gē)「(yè lái xiāng)」

…..(one, an)(MW for song)(old)(song) “(night comes sweet)”

A few days ago I heard the old song “夜來香.”

讓我回想起了我自己跟夜來香花香的故事 :

(讓)(我)(回想)(起)(了)(我)(自己)

(ㄖㄤˋ)(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄏㄨㄟˊ ㄒㄧㄤˇ)(ㄑㄧˇ)(ㄌㄜ˙)(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄗˋ ㄐㄧˇ)

(ràng)(wǒ)(húi xiǎng)(qǐ)(le.)(wǒ)(zì jǐ)

(to make)(me)(to recall)(to start)(emphasis)(I)(oneself)

…..(跟)(夜來香)(花香)(的)(故事) :

…..(ㄍㄣ)(ㄧㄝˋ ㄌㄞˊ ㄒㄧㄤ)(ㄏㄨㄚ ㄒㄧㄤ)(ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄍㄨˋ ㄕˋ)

…..(gēn)(yè lái xiāng)(huā xiāng)(de.)(gù shì)

…..(with, and)(night jasmine)(flower fragrance)(adjective marker)(story)

It made me recall my own story about night jasmine’s fragrance.

---

很多年前，

(很)(多)(年)(前)，

(ㄏㄣˇ)(ㄉㄨㄛ)(ㄋㄧㄢˊ)(ㄑㄧㄢˊ)

(hěn)(duō)(nián)(qián)

(very)(many)(year)(preceding)

Very many years ago,

在我生命中的低潮期，

(在)(我)(生命中)(的)[(低潮)(期)]

(ㄗㄞˋ)(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄕㄥ ㄇㄥˋ ㄓㄨㄥ)(ㄉㄜ˙)[(ㄉ一 ㄔㄠˊ)(ㄑㄧˊ)]

(zài)(wǒ)(shēng mìng zhōng)(de.)[(dī cháo)(qí)]

(at)(my)(life, existence)(adjective marker)[(low ebb)(period)]

I was at a low point in my life,

生活很辛苦，

(生活)(很)(辛苦)

(ㄕㄥ ㄏㄨㄛˊ)(ㄏㄣˇ)(ㄎㄨˋ ㄋㄢˊ)

(shēng huó)(hěn)(kùn nán)

(life)(very)(difficult)

life was very difficult,

壓力很大，

(壓力)(很)(大)

(ㄧㄚ ㄌㄧˋ)(ㄏㄣˇ)(ㄉㄚˋ)

(yā lì)(hěn)(dà)

(pressure)(very)(big, great)

the pressure was great,

心情很苦悶，

(心情)(很)(苦悶)

(ㄒㄧㄣ ㄑㄧㄥˊ)(ㄏㄣˇ)(ㄎㄨˇ ㄇㄣˋ)

(xīn qíng)(hěn)(kǔ mèn)

(mood, frame of mind)(very)(depressed, dejected)

I was feeling very dejected.

一個仲夏的夜晚我獨自出去散步解悶

(一)(個)(仲夏)(的)(夜晚)

(ㄧ)(ㄍㄜ˙)(ㄓㄨㄥˋ ㄒㄧㄚˋ)(ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄧㄝˋ ㄨㄢˇ)

(yī)(ge.)(zhòng xià)(de.)(yè wǎn)

(one)(MW)(midsummer)(adjective marker)(night)

…..(我)(獨自)(出去)(散步)(解悶)

…..(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄉㄨˊ ㄗˋ)(ㄔㄨ ㄑㄩˋ)(ㄙㄢˋ ㄅㄨˋ)(ㄐㄧㄝˇ ㄇㄣˋ)

…..(wǒ)(dú zì)(chū qù)(sàn bù)(jiě mèn)

…..(I)(alone)(to go out)(to walk)(to relieve melancholy, a diversion)

In the middle of a summer’s night, I went out for a walk to get my mind off things.

拖著沉重的腳步，

(拖)(著)(沉重)(的)(腳步)

(ㄊㄨㄛ)(ㄓㄜ˙)(ㄔㄣˊ ㄓㄨㄥˋ)(ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄐㄧㄠˇ ㄅㄨˋ)

(tuō)(zhe.)(chén zhòng)(de.)(jiǎo bù)

(to drag)(particle indicating action in progress)((heavy, hard)(adjective marker)(footstep)

I walked with heavy footsteps.

心裡覺得很沉痛悲傷，

(心)(裡)(覺得)(很)(沉痛)(悲傷)

(ㄒㄧㄣ)(ㄌㄧˇ)(ㄐㄩㄝˊ ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄏㄣˇ)(ㄔㄣˊ ㄊㄨㄥˋ)(ㄅㄟ ㄕㄤ)

(xīn)(lǐ)(jué de.)(hěn)(chén tòng)(bēi shāng)

(heart)(in)(to feel)(very)(deeply greived)(sorrowful)

My heart was filled with deep grief and sorrow.

突然隨著清風聞到了一陣花香，

(突然)(隨著)(清風)

(ㄊㄨ ㄖㄢˊ)(ㄙㄨㄟˊ ㄓㄜ˙)(ㄑㄧㄥ ㄈㄥ)

(tū rán)(suí zhe.)(qīng fēng)

(unexpected, sudden)(in the wake of, along with)(cool breeze)

…..(聞到)(了)(一)(陣)(花香)

…..(ㄨㄣˊ ㄉㄠˋ)(ㄌㄜ˙)(ㄧ)(ㄓㄣ)(ㄏㄨㄚ ㄒㄧㄤ)

…..(wén dào)(le.)(yí)(zhèn)(huā xiāng)

…..(smelled)(emphasis)(one)(MW for events of short duration)(flower fragrance)

Unexpectedly, a cool breeze carried with it the fragrance of a flower.

那花香很迷人，

(那)(花香)(很)(迷人)

(ㄋㄚˋ)(ㄏㄨㄚ ㄒㄧㄤ)(ㄏㄣˇ)(ㄇㄧˊ ㄖㄣˊ)

(nà)(huā xiāng)(hěn)(mí rén)

(that)(flower fragrance)(very)(captivating, enchanting)

That flower fragrance was very captivating.

我四處張望找尋花香的來處，

(我)(四處張望)❷(找尋)(花香)(的)(來處)

(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄙˋ ㄔㄨˋ ㄓㄤ ㄨㄤˋ)(ㄓㄠˇ ㄒㄨㄣˊ)(ㄏㄨㄚ ㄒㄧㄤ)(ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄌㄞˊ ㄔㄨˋ)

(wǒ)(sì chù zhāng wàng)(zhǎo xún)(huā xiāng)(de.)(lái chù)

(I)(looked everywhere)(to look for)(flower fragranced)(adjective marker)(to come from)

I looked everywhere to see where it was coming from.

我忘了我的心痛和煩惱，

(我)(忘)(了)(我的)(心痛)(和)(煩惱)

(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄨㄤˋ)(ㄌㄜ˙)(ㄨㄛˇ ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄒㄧㄣ ㄊㄨㄥˋ)(ㄏㄢˋ)(ㄈㄢˊ ㄋㄠˇ)

(wǒ)(wàng)(le.)(wǒ de.)(xīn tòng)(hàn)(fán nǎo)

(I)(to forget)(emphasize completion)(heartache)(and)(worries)

I forgot my heartache and worries.

只想多聞那花香，

(只)(想)❸(多)(聞)(那)(花香)

(ㄓˇ)(ㄒㄧㄤˇ)(ㄉㄨㄛˊ)(ㄨㄣˊ)(ㄋㄚˋ)(ㄏㄨㄚ ㄒㄧㄤ)

(zhǐ)(xiǎng)(duó)(wén)(nà)(huā xiāng)

(only)(to think, to want)(how)(to smell)(that)(flower fragrance)

(I) only wanted to smell that flower,

原來是一個人家院子裡一棵夜來香隨著夜風送來的芳香！

(原來)(是)(一個)(人)(家)(院子)(裡)

(ㄩㄢˊ ㄌㄞˊ)(ㄕˋ)(ㄧ ㄍㄜ˙)(ㄖㄣˊ)(ㄐㄧㄚ)(ㄩㄢˋ ㄗ˙)(ㄌㄧˇ)

(yuán lái)(shì)(yī ge.)(rén)(jiā)(yuàn zi.)(lǐ)

(originally, as it turns out)(to be, is)(one +MW)(person)(house)(yard)(in)

…..(一棵)(夜來香)(隨著)

…..(ㄧˋ ㄎㄜ)(ㄧㄝˋ ㄌㄞˊ ㄒㄧㄤ)(ㄙㄨㄟˊ ㄓㄜ˙)

…..(yì kē)(yè lái xiāng)(sui zhe.)

…..(one + MW for trees, plants)(tuberose, Night Jasmine)(in the wake of, following)

……….(夜風)(送來)(的)(芳香)

……….(ㄧㄝˋ ㄈㄥ)(ㄙㄨㄥˋ ㄍㄟˇ)(ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄈㄤ ㄒㄧㄤ)

……….(yè fēng)(sòng lái)(de.)(fāng xiāng)

……….(night breeze)(to deliver to come)(adjective marker)(pleasant fragrance)

The sweet fragrance of Night Jasmine originated in a person’s garden and was carried on the night breeze.

我也在剎那間有了一個領悟，

(我)(也)(在)(剎那間)❹(有)(了)(一個)(領悟)

(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄧㄝˇ)(ㄗㄞˋ)(ㄔㄚˋ ㄋㄚˋ ㄐㄧㄢ)(ㄧㄡˇ)(ㄌㄜ˙)(ㄧ ㄍㄜ˙)(ㄌㄧㄥˇ ㄨˋ)

(wǒ)(yě)(zài)(chà nà jiān)(yǒu)(le.)(yī ge.)(lǐng wù)

(I)(also)(in, at)(twinkle of an eye, an instant)(to have)(emphasis)(one, a)(to understand)

Also, in the twinkle of an eye, I came to understand –

啊！神靈是無所不在，

(啊)！(神靈)(是)(無所不在)

(ㄚ)! (ㄕㄣˊ ㄌㄧㄥˊ)(ㄕˋ)(ㄨˊ ㄙㄨㄛˇ ㄅㄨˋ ㄗㄞˋ)

(ā)! (shén líng)(shì)(wú suǒ bù zài)

(ah)! (god, spirit)(is, to be)(omnipresent)

Ah! The spirit of God is everywhere,

在風裡，在花香裡，

(在)(風)(裡)，(在)(花香)(裡)，

(ㄗㄞˋ)(ㄈㄥ)(ㄌㄧˇ), (ㄗㄞˋ)(ㄏㄨㄚ ㄒㄧㄤ)(ㄌㄧˇ),

(zài)(fēng)(lǐ), (zài)(huā xiāng)(lǐ),

(at)(wind)(in), (at)(flower fragrance)(in)

in the wind, in the flower fragrance,

在自然萬物裡，

(在)(自然)(萬物)(裡)

(ㄗㄞˋ)(ㄗˋ ㄖㄢˊ)(ㄨㄢˋ ㄨˋ)(ㄌㄧˇ)

(zài)(zì rán)(wàn wù)(lǐ)

(at)(nature, natural)(all living things)(in)

in all of nature,

我從來不是單獨一個人！

(我)(從來)(不)(是)[(單獨)(一個)(人)]

(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄘㄨㄥˊ ㄌㄞˊ)(ㄅㄨˊ)(ㄕˋ)[(ㄉㄢ ㄉㄨˊ)(ㄧ ㄍㄜ˙)(ㄖㄣˊ)]

(wǒ)(cóng lái)(bú)(shì)[(dān dú)(yī ge.)(rén)]

(I)(always, at all times)(not)(to be)[(alone, by oneself)(one +MW)(person)]

I was never alone!

那一念之間給了我勇氣，

[(那)(一念之間)](給)(了)(我)(勇氣)

[(ㄋㄚˋ)(ㄧˊ ㄋㄧㄢˋ ㄓ ㄐㄧㄢ)](ㄍㄟˇ)(ㄌㄜ˙)(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄩˇ ㄑㄧˋ)

[(nà)(yí nà zhī jiān)](gěi)(le.)(wǒ)(yǒng qì)

[(that)(moment of my thought)](to give)(emphasis)(me)(courage)

In that moment of realization, I got courage,

和信心，

(和)(信心)

(ㄏㄢˋ)(ㄒㄧㄣˋ ㄒㄧㄣ)

(hàn)(xìn xīn)

(and)(confidence)

and confidence,

把一切煩惱和困難交給神靈，

(把)(一切)(煩惱)(和)(困難)(交給)(神靈)

(ㄅㄚˇ)(ㄧˊ ㄑㄧㄝˋ)(ㄈㄢˊ ㄋㄠˇ)(ㄏㄢˋ)(ㄎㄨㄣˋ ㄋㄢˊ)(ㄐㄧㄠ ㄍㄟˇ)(ㄕㄣˊ ㄌㄧㄥˊ)

(bǎ)(yí qiè)(fán nǎo)(hàn)(kún nán)(jiāo gěi)(shén líng)

(particle marking direct object to follow)❺(every)(worries)(and)(difficulties)(to give, to hand over)(God)

to hand all my worries and difficulties over to God,

請祂賜予智慧和力量來克服。

(請)(祂)❻(賜予)(智慧)(和)(力量)(來)(克服)

(ㄑㄧㄥˇ)(ㄊㄚ)(ㄙˋ ㄩˇ)(ㄓˋ ㄏㄨㄟˋ)(ㄏㄢˋ)(ㄌㄧˋ ㄌㄧㄤˋ)(ㄌㄞˊ)(ㄎㄜˋ ㄈㄨˊ)

(qǐng)(tā)(sì yǔ)(zhì huì)(hàn)(lì liàng)(lái)(kè fú)

(to ask)(him)(to grant, to bestow)(wisdom)(and)(strength)(to)(endure)

to ask him to give me the wisdom and strength to endure.

事隔多年我還依然記得

(事隔多年)(我)(還)(依然)(記得)

(ㄕˋ ㄍㄜˊ ㄉㄨㄛ ㄋㄧㄢˊ)(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄏㄞˊ)(ㄧ ㄖㄢˊ)(ㄐㄧˋ ㄉㄜ˙)

(shì gé duō nián)(wǒ)(hái)(yī rán)(jì de.)

(that instance)(I)(still, {emphasizes 依然})(as before, still)((to remember)

I remember that moment well

…..聞那花香時的振奮和安慰，

…..(聞)(那)(花香)(時的)(振奮)(和)(安慰)

…..(wén)(nà)(huā xiāng)(shí de.)(zhèn fèn)(hàn)(ān wèi)

…..(to smell)(that)(flower fragrance)(when, time)(to inspire)(and)(comfort)

….when I smell that flower fragrance, feeling inspiration and comfort,

和那微風裡對神的領悟 ，

(和)(那)(微風)(裡)(對)(神的)(領悟)

(ㄏㄢˋ)(ㄋㄚˋ)(ㄨㄟ ㄈㄥ)(ㄌㄞˇ)(ㄉㄨㄟˋ)(ㄕㄣˊ ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄌㄧㄥˇ ㄨˋ)

(hàn)(nà)(wēi fēng)(lǐ)(duì)(shén de.)(lǐng wù)

(and)(that)(light breeze)( in)(toward)(God’s)(to understand)

and in the light breeze there is an understanding of God,

不是什麼大奇蹟的發生，

(不)(是)(什麼)❼[(大)(奇蹟)(的)(發生)]

(ㄅㄨˊ)(ㄕˋ)(ㄕㄣˊ ㄇㄜ˙)[(ㄉㄚˋ)(ㄑㄧˊ ㄐㄧ)(ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄈㄚ ㄕㄥ)]

(bú)(shì)(shén me.)[(dà)(qí jī)(de.)(fā shēng)]

(not)(to be, is)(anything, something)[(big)(strange, wonderful, miracle)(adjective marker)(to happening)]

(It) is not any big miracle,

卻是我生命中一個

(卻是)(我)(生命)(中)(一個)

(ㄑㄩㄝˋ ㄕˋ)(ㄨㄛˇ)(ㄕㄥ ㄇㄧㄥˋ)(ㄓㄨㄥ)(ㄧ ㄍㄜ˙)

(què shì)(wǒ)(shēng mìng)(zhōng)(yē ge.)

(nevertheless)(my)(life)(within, during)(a)

nevertheless, in my life (it was) a

…..深刻覺醒的經驗 ！

…..(深刻)(覺醒)(的)(經驗)

…..(ㄕㄣ ㄎㄜˋ)(ㄐㄩㄝˊ ㄒㄧㄥˇ)(ㄉㄜ˙)(ㄐㄧㄥ ㄧㄢˋ)

…..(shēn kè)(jué xǐng)(de.)(jing yàn)

…..(profound, deep)(awakening to the truth, to come to realize)(adjective marker)(experience)

…..profound moment of realization!

---

---

Notes:

❶ This is both the name of a flower and the name of a song. You can see that the literal meaning is about the sweetness of the flower fragrance coming at night. The Chinese name is very descriptive. In English, this flower is sometimes known as Night Jasmine.

❷ This is a fun idiom and pretty easy to remember using the literal meanings of the characters.

• 四處 means four places implying the four corners of the earth.
• 張望 is made up of 張, which has a bunch of meanings that have to to with a stretch or to extend; plus 望 meaning to look and to hope.

Together they mean to really look all over.

❸ To think about something is very much the same as wanting it.

❹ This can also be expressed as 霎那間, the only difference being the first character, which is pronounced ㄕㄚˋ (shà), and by itself means light rain, drizzle, or instant.

❺ In case you’ve forgotten, a direct object is the noun that the action is exerted on. Since order is very important in Chinese grammar, particles such as 把 are used when the standard order is not used. Otherwise the meaning would be confused or unintelligible.

❻ God gets his own pronoun, or special ㄊㄚ (tā). To review when to use which ㄊㄚ, see Understanding the words he 他, she 她, and it 牠 or 它 in Chinese

❼ Yes, this is also the common way to ask “what.”

.