花間一壺酒。 A cup of wine, under the flowering trees; 獨酌無相親。 I drink alone, for no friend is near. 舉杯邀明月。 Raising my cup I beckon the bright moon, 對影成三人。 For he, with my shadow, will make three men. 月既不解飲。 The moon, alas, is no drinker of wine; 影徒隨我身。 Listless, my shadow creeps about at my side. 暫伴月將影。 Yet with the moon as friend and the shadow as slave 行樂須及春。 I must make merry before the Spring is spent.
我歌月徘徊。 To the songs I sing the moon flickers her beams; 我舞影零亂。 In the dance I weave my shadow tangles and break. 醒時同交歡。 While we were sober, three shared the fun; 醉後各分散。 Now we are drunk, each goes his way. 永結無情遊。 May we long share our odd, inanimate feast, 相期邈雲漢。 And meet at last on the Cloudy River of the sky.