半路出家

bànlùchūjiā

idiom #57,143

Meanings

1 to switch careers midway
2 to take up a profession late in life
3 to come to something from a different background

Characters

to leave, go out

Examples

他是半路出家的程序员，三十岁才开始学编程。

Tā shì bàn lù chū jiā de chéngxùyuán, sānshí suì cái kāishǐ xué biānchéng.

He's a career-switcher programmer; he only started coding at thirty.

虽然我是半路出家，但工作起来一点也不比科班出身的差。

Suīrán wǒ shì bàn lù chū jiā, dàn gōngzuò qǐlái yīdiǎn yě bù bǐ kē bān chūshēn de chà.

Although I switched fields late, my work is no worse than those formally trained.

Tips

culture

Literally 'becoming a monk halfway down the road' — originally meant taking Buddhist vows as an adult rather than entering the monastery young. The metaphor now covers anyone who changes careers or picks up a new craft late.

Stroke Order

半 bàn

路 lù

出 chū

家 jiā