天生我材必有用

tiānshēngwǒcáibìyǒuyòng

phrase #63,007

Meanings

1 heaven made me with talent — there must be a use for it
2 since heaven endowed me, my gifts must find their purpose

Characters

to give birth / create

talent / material

Examples

天生我材必有用，千金散尽还复来。

Tiān shēng wǒ cái bì yǒu yòng, qiān jīn sàn jìn huán fù lái.

Heaven made me with talent — there must be a use for it; a thousand in gold, though spent, will come again.

别灰心，天生我材必有用，你一定能找到自己的方向。

Bié huīxīn, tiān shēng wǒ cái bì yǒu yòng, nǐ yīdìng néng zhǎodào zìjǐ de fāngxiàng.

Don't be discouraged — heaven made you with talent for a reason, you'll find your direction.

Tips

history

From Li Bai's 《将进酒》 (Tang dynasty), the poet's drinking-song manifesto: 天生我材必有用，千金散尽还复来。 Written during Li Bai's years of frustrated ambition, the line became the default Chinese battle-cry of self-belief — tattooed on students before exams, printed on motivational posters.

usage

材 means talent / material here, not 才 (though both are read cái and sometimes interchanged). Keep 材. Almost always quoted with 千金散尽还复来.

Stroke Order

天 tiān

生 shēng

我 wǒ

材 cái

必 bì

有 yǒu

用 yòng