学而时习之

學而時習之

xuéérshíxízhī

phrase

Meanings

1 to study and review it at the proper time
2 to learn something and regularly put it into practice (literally)

Characters

timely, at the right moment

practise, review

it (classical object pronoun)

Examples

学而时习之，不亦说乎？这是孔子的名言。

Xué ér shí xí zhī, bú yì yuè hū? Zhè shì Kǒngzǐ de míngyán.

‘To learn and review it at the right time — is that not a joy?’ This is Confucius's famous line.

老师要求我们学而时习之，每天复习。

Lǎoshī yāoqiú wǒmen xué ér shí xí zhī, měitiān fùxí.

The teacher wants us to ‘learn and review at the right time,’ revisiting the material daily.

Tips

history

Opening of the Analects 《论语·学而》: ‘学而时习之，不亦说乎？’ (To learn and then review it in a timely way — is that not a joy?) The first line of the first chapter — effectively the opening words of the Confucian canon.

usage

说 in the original is the variant reading 悦 (yuè, ‘delight’), not modern shuō. 时 = at the proper/timely moment; 习 = practise, review.

Stroke Order

学 xué

而 ér

时 shí

习 xí

之 zhī