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春色满园关不住

春色滿園關不住
Chūnsè mǎnyuán guān bú zhù
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 a garden full of spring cannot be shut in
  2. 2 hidden vitality will always make itself visible
  3. 3 spring-color fills the garden, (you) cannot keep it in

Examples

HSK 7-9
春色满园关不住，一枝红杏出墙来，真是贴切的比喻。
Chūnsèmǎnyuánguānbúzhù, yīzhīhóngxìngchūqiánglái, zhēnshì tiēqiè de bǐyù.
'Spring in the garden can't be kept in - one red apricot branch leans over the wall' - what a fitting metaphor.
HSK 7-9
年轻人的才华春色满园关不住，迟早会被看到。
Niánqīngrén de cáihuá chūnsèmǎnyuánguānbúzhù, chízǎo huì bèi kàndào.
The young person's talent cannot be shut in - sooner or later it will be seen.

Tips

history
From Ye Shaoweng's (叶绍翁, Southern Song) 《游园不值》: 春色满园关不住，一枝红杏出墙来。 (The garden's spring cannot be shut in - one red apricot branch leans out over the wall.) The poet, denied entry to a garden, notices a single branch escaping over the wall - and decides that's enough to know spring is inside.
usage
The partner line 红杏出墙 (red apricot leaning out the wall) independently became modern slang for 'a wife cheating / having an affair' - so use this phrase with care. In its original sense, the couplet is innocently about concealed beauty revealing itself.

Stroke Order

春 chūn
色 sè
满 mǎn
园 yuán
关 guān
不 bù
住 zhù