花开堪折直须折

花開堪折直須折

huā kāi kān zhé zhí xū zhé

quotation

Meanings

1 when the blossom is ready to be plucked, pluck it at once
2 classical carpe diem — act while the moment is ripe, or regret it forever

Characters

pluck / break off

straight / at once

Examples

年轻人啊，花开堪折直须折，别等机会溜走。

Niánqīngrén a, huākāikānzhézhíxūzhé, bié děng jīhuì liūzǒu.

Young people — pluck the blossom when it is ready; don't let opportunity slip by.

他递简历时想起"花开堪折直须折"，立刻按下了发送键。

Tā dì jiǎnlì shí xiǎngqǐ " huākāikānzhézhíxūzhé ", lìkè àn xià le fāsòng jiàn.

Submitting his résumé, he thought 'pluck the blossom when ready' — and hit send immediately.

Tips

history

From 《金缕衣》 (attributed to 杜秋娘 Du Qiuniang, Tang dynasty): '劝君莫惜金缕衣，劝君惜取少年时。花开堪折直须折，莫待无花空折枝.' Chinese carpe-diem — don't cling to wealth, cling to the prime of youth.

usage

堪 = 'can be / fit to be.' 直须 = 'simply must / at once.' Both are classical constructions still used in literary Chinese.

Stroke Order

花 huā

开 kāi

堪 kān

折 zhé

直 zhí

须 xū