Chinese word

不见不散

Pronunciation

Pinyinbù jiàn bù sàn

Meaning

idiomdon't leave until we meet

Example

两点咖啡店见，不见不散。liáng diǎn kā fēi diàn jiàn bú jiàn bú sàn

Meet at the coffee shop at two; don't leave until we meet.

Illustration for 不见不散 (don't leave until we meet)

More examples

放学后图书馆门口见，不见不散。fàng xué hòu tú shū guǎn mén kǒu jiàn bú jiàn bú sàn

After school, let's meet at the library entrance; don't leave until we meet.

Core concept

A shared meeting point where both people stay until they have found each other.

Common phrases

放学后不见不散fàng xué hòu bú jiàn bú sàn
don't leave until we meet after school
图书馆门口不见不散tú shū guǎn mén kǒu bú jiàn bú sàn
don't leave until we meet at the library entrance

Similar words

到时见dào shí jiàn: A brief greeting meaning that the speakers will meet at the agreed time.
等我děng wǒ: A request for someone to wait until the speaker arrives.
别走bié zǒu: A short request for someone to stay and not leave the place.

Definition in Chinese

用于口语的约定用语，表示双方约好在某地等候，若未见面便不会散开，直至相见。yòng yú kóu yǔ de yuē dìng yòng yǔ biǎo shì shuāng fāng yuē hǎo zài mǒu dì děng hòu ruò wèi jiàn miàn biàn bú huì sàn kāi zhí zhì xiāng jiàn

Word origin

不见不散 (bùjiànbùsàn, "not meet, not disperse") is built from 不 (bù, "not") + 见 (jiàn, "meet") + 不 + 散 (sàn, "disperse"), turning a literal condition into a firm meeting promise.

Usage tips

For English speakers, the wording can sound like a command to one person, but in Chinese it commonly confirms a mutual appointment.

Other meanings

meet there and waitidiom