魚水之歡

Chinese

		fish and water; intimate relationship; inseparability	's; him/her/it; this	joyous; happy; pleased
trad. (魚水之歡)		魚水	之	歡
simp. (鱼水之欢)		鱼水	之	欢
Literally: “the pleasure between fish and water; the pleasure of fishes in water”.

Etymology

This idiom is from the Yuan-dynasty play Romance of the Western Chamber, although the metaphor itself existed long prior to that.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yúshuǐzhīhuān

  (Zhuyin): ㄩˊ ㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄓ ㄏㄨㄢ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jyu⁴ seoi² zi¹ fun¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yúshuǐzhīhuān
    • Zhuyin: ㄩˊ ㄕㄨㄟˇ ㄓ ㄏㄨㄢ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yúshuěijhihhuan
    • Wade–Giles: yü²-shui³-chih¹-huan¹
    • Yale: yú-shwěi-jr̄-hwān
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yushoeijyhuan
    • Palladius: юйшуйчжихуань (jujšujčžixuanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /y³⁵ ʂu̯eɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ xu̯än⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: jyu⁴ seoi² zi¹ fun¹
    • Yale: yùh séui jī fūn
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jy⁴ soey² dzi¹ fun¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: yu⁴ sêu² ji¹ fun¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jyː²¹ sɵy̯³⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ fuːn⁵⁵/

Idiom

魚水之歡

1. (euphemistic, figurative) the pleasure of close intimacy between a couple; (the pleasure of) sexual intercourse; harmonious and joyous life of a married couple