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少壮不努力

少壯不努力
shàozhuàngbùnǔlì
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 if you don't work hard when young and strong
  2. 2 fail to strive in your youth (and prime)

Examples

少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲。
Shàozhuàng bù nǔlì, lǎo dà tú shāng bēi.
If you do not strive in youth, in old age you'll only grieve in vain.
老师常对我们说，少壮不努力，将来会后悔的。
Lǎoshī cháng duì wǒmen shuō, shàozhuàng bù nǔlì, jiānglái huì hòuhuǐ de.
The teacher often tells us that if we don't work hard in our youth, we'll regret it later.

Tips

history
From the Yuefu ballad 《长歌行》 (Han dynasty, anonymous): 百川东到海，何时复西归？少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲。 'All rivers run east to the sea — when do they ever return west? If you don't strive when young, in old age you will grieve in vain.' Taught in primary-school textbooks, probably the single most quoted line of youth-exhortation in Chinese.
usage
Always paired with 老大徒伤悲 (in old age you'll only grieve in vain). 少壮 refers to the prime of life, not just childhood.

Stroke Order

少 shǎo
壮 zhuàng
不 bù
努 nǔ
力 lì