断袖之癖 in English duan4 xiu4 zhi1 pi3 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) cut sleeve (idiomatic expression); metaphorically euphemism for homosexuality, originating from History of Western Han 漢書|汉书: emperor Han Aidi (real name Liu Xin) was in bed with his lover Dong Xian, and had to attend a court audience that morning. Not wishing to awaken Dong Xian, who was sleeping with his head resting on the emperor's long robe sleeve, Aidi used a knife to cut off the lower half of his sleeve.

Simplified Characters

断 袖 之 癖

Traditional Characters

斷 袖 之 癖

Pinyin

duan4 xiu4 zhi1 pi3

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

断duan4to break 袖xiu4sleeve 之zhi1(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) 癖pi3habit