# 一衣带水

yī yī dài shuǐ

Be separated by a narrow stretch of water

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** A strip of water like a clothing belt

**Traditional Chinese:** 一衣帶水

**Register:** Warm · literary

[People & connection](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/relationships)

## When to use it

Describe geographic closeness across water and related ties.

Usually relative narrowness, not a literal belt-width measurement.

## Understanding the expression

A strip of water is imagined as no wider than a belt, emphasizing closeness between its two shores. The expression commonly describes neighboring places separated by a river or sea. It can support a broader comment about cultural or social connections, but geographic proximity alone does not prove harmony. The narrowness is relative and rhetorical. A clear sentence names the places and the water relationship rather than using it as a general synonym for friendship.

## Examples

两座城一衣带水，来往方便。

### Traditional Chinese

兩座城一衣帶水，來往方便。

liǎng zuò chéng yī yī dài shuǐ ， lái wǎng fāng biàn 。

The cities face each other across a narrow waterway.

这两个村庄一衣带水，共用一座桥。

### Traditional Chinese

這兩個村莊一衣帶水，共用一座橋。

zhè liǎng gè cūn zhuāng yī yī dài shuǐ ， gòng yòng yí zuò qiáo 。

The villages share a bridge across a narrow river.

他介绍一衣带水的两岸文化。

### Traditional Chinese

他介紹一衣帶水的兩岸文化。

tā jiè shào yī yī dài shuǐ de liǎng àn wén huà 。

He introduces the cultures on the nearby opposing shores.

虽一衣带水，过去交通并不容易。

### Traditional Chinese

雖一衣帶水，過去交通並不容易。

suī yī yī dài shuǐ ， guò qù jiāo tōng bìng bù róng yì 。

Despite the narrow water gap, travel was once difficult.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E4%B8%80%E8%A1%A3%E5%B8%B6%E6%B0%B4)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=663&webMd=1&la=0)

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