ǒu​duàn​sī​lián

apparently severed but still connected

藕断丝连 藕斷絲連 ǒu​duàn​sī​lián
apparently severed but still connected
Literally means that a lotus root might be broken while its fibers remain joined; used to describe people who have ended a formal relationship but remain emotionally attached or involved, especially former lovers.

Frequency

Written text
0.289 per million

Sources

Frequency data
BCC Corpus (BLCU)