年逾古稀

niányú-gǔxī
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 to be over seventy years old
  2. 2 to have passed the 'rare old age' of seventy

Examples

HSK 4
Zhèwèi lǎo jiàoshòu niányú-gǔxī, hái jiānchí gěi xuésheng shàngkè.
This old professor is past seventy, yet still insists on teaching his students.
HSK 7-9
Wàigōng niányú-gǔxī, shēntǐ yīrán yìnglǎng.
My grandfather is over seventy but still very robust.

Tips

history
From Du Fu's (杜甫) Tang-dynasty poem 《曲江》: 人生七十古来稀 - 'Reaching seventy has always been rare.' 古稀 (literally 'rare since ancient times') has since become a poetic name for the age of seventy.
register
Literary and respectful - used to refer to elderly people with dignity, especially in formal writing or biographical contexts. More elegant than just 七十多岁.

Stroke Order

nián