天生我材必有用

Tiān shēng wǒ cái bì yǒu yòng
quotation #63,007

Meanings

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

Examples

HSK 7-9
Tiānshēngwǒcáibìyǒuyòng, qiānjīnsànjìnhuánfùlái.
Heaven made me with talent - there must be a use for it; a thousand in gold, though spent, will come again.
HSK 7-9
Bié huīxīn, tiānshēngwǒcáibìyǒuyòng, 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
means talent / material here, not (though both are read cái and sometimes interchanged). Keep . Almost always quoted with 千金散尽还复来.

Stroke Order

tiān
shēng
cái
yǒu
yòng