四十不惑

sìshí búhuò

phrase

Meanings

1 at forty, free from doubt
2 traditional name for the age of forty

Characters

confused / doubt

Examples

他已经四十不惑的年纪了。

Tā yǐjīng sìshí búhuò de niánjì le.

He is already at the 'no more doubts' age of forty.

孔子说四十不惑,我快四十了却越来越迷茫。

Kǒngzǐ shuō sìshí búhuò, wǒ kuài sìshí lequè yuèláiyuè mímáng.

Confucius said 'forty brings clarity', but as I near forty I feel more lost than ever.

Tips

history

From the Analects 《论语·为政》: 吾十有五而志于学,三十而立,四十而不惑,五十而知天命,六十而耳顺,七十而从心所欲不逾矩 — Confucius's autobiography of his inner life by decade. 不惑 means he was no longer confused about how to live.

Stroke Order

四 sì

十 shí

不 bù

惑 huò