有过一面之缘
“We met once.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
令尊长我八岁 他中举时 我刚中秀才
“Your father was eight years older than me. When he passed the provincial exam, I had just become a Xiucai.”
有过 一面之缘
“We met once.”
他任江苏督学时 我刚好从省立师范回到海文
“When he was the education inspector in Jiangsu, I had just returned to Haiwen from the provincial normal school”
Direct spoken expression in this communicative setting.
In traditional Chinese etiquette, tracing shared civil examination ties or fleeting personal encounters establishes immediate social affinity and mutual respect.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
a fleeting encounter; to have met only once
A highly idiomatic, polite four-character phrase used to describe having met someone on a single occasion.
