Tā niánqīng shí bù kě yī shì, hòulái cái xuéhuì qiānxū.
He was insufferably arrogant in his youth; only later did he learn humility.
Tips
history
From Luo Dajing's Song-dynasty 《鹤林玉露》: '荆公少年，不可一世' — Wang Anshi (王荆公) in his youth considered no contemporary his equal. Originally neutral 'peerless'; now uniformly pejorative.
mistakes
Despite the literal 'unrivalled,' this is always negative in modern use — 'arrogant / conceited.' Compare with the positive 举世无双 ('unmatched in the world').
