李郭同船 — “To describe close friends or soulmates enjoying each other's company”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 李郭同船?

以之比喻知已相处。同“李郭同舟”。

李郭同船 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to describe close friends or soulmates enjoying each other's company”. To be intimate friends who understand each other deeply. Literally, “Li and Guo sharing a boat”.

Frequency

李郭同船 Pronunciation and Pinyin

李郭同船 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
李	lǐ	7	plum tree or fruit
郭	guō	11	city outer wall or frame
同	tóng	6	same, together, with
船	chuán	11	boat or ship

Example Sentence with 李郭同船

他们俩自小青梅竹马，长大后仍然李郭同船，友情深厚。

They were childhood friends, and even after growing up, they remained like Li and Guo sharing a boat, with a profound friendship.

Origin and Story of 李郭同船

During the Southern Dynasties, Guo Tai, whose courtesy name was Linzong, from Jiexiu, Taiyuan, came from a humble background. Despite this, he was an eager learner and traveled widely for his studies.

During his travels, he visited Luoyang and met Li Ying, the Governor of Henan. Li Ying greatly appreciated Guo Tai's company, and their close friendship quickly became a celebrated story.

Later, when Guo Tai was about to return home, many scholars from the capital came to bid him farewell. However, Guo Tai chose to depart on a boat with only Li Ying.

Those who saw them off commented that they looked like a pair of immortals.