‘追忆似水年华’ is the standard Chinese translation of Marcel Proust’s monumental novel *À la recherche du temps perdu*, rendered literally as ‘chasing memories of time like water.’ Each character contributes to this poetic, melancholic image: 追 (to pursue), 忆 (to recall), 似 (like/as), 水 (water — symbolizing time’s fluid, irreversible flow), 年 (years), and 华 (splendor or prime — evoking youth’s brilliance). Together, the phrase conveys a reflective, often wistful act of revisiting one’s past with aesthetic sensitivity and emotional depth.

Though originally a book title, it has entered literary and colloquial usage in Chinese to describe profound, lyrical reminiscence — especially of youth, lost love, or formative experiences. It carries high-register, literary connotations and is rarely used in casual speech; instead, it appears in essays, film reviews, memoirs, or solemn personal reflections. Its tone is elegiac and introspective, not nostalgic in a light or sentimental way.