桃之夭夭

táo zhī yāoyāo
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 the peach tree is young and lush

Examples

HSK 7-9
" Táo zhī yāoyāo, zhuózhuó qí huá " cháng bèi yònglái zhùfú xīnhūn fūfù.
'The peach tree is young and lush, its blossoms blazing bright' is often used to wish newlyweds well.

Tips

culture
The first line of 《桃夭》, a wedding song in the 周南 section of the 《诗经》. 夭夭 pictures a young tree in full flower, and the song likens the bride to it.
history
Swapping 桃 'peach' for its homophone 逃 'to flee' gives 逃之夭夭 'to run off without a trace', a pun now far better known than the line itself. Writers sometimes use 桃之夭夭 itself for running away, as a joke.

Stroke Order

桃 táo
之 zhī
夭 yāo