莫待无花空折枝

莫待無花空折枝

mòdàiwúhuākōngzhézhī

phrase

Meanings

1 don't wait until there are no flowers and have to snap the empty branch
2 (fig.) seize youth / opportunity while it lasts — time and chances do not return
3 (lit.) don't — wait-till — no — flower — in-vain — break — branch

Characters

Examples

年轻时就要努力，莫待无花空折枝。

Niánqīng shí jiù yào nǔlì, mò dài wú huā kōng zhé zhī.

Strive while you are young — 'don't wait till the flowers are gone and break an empty branch.'

她劝朋友抓紧机会：花开堪折直须折，莫待无花空折枝。

Tā quàn péngyǒu zhuājǐn jīhuì: huā kāi kān zhé zhí xū zhé, mò dài wú huā kōng zhé zhī.

She urged her friend to seize the chance: 'when the flower blooms, pluck it directly — don't wait till it's gone to snap a bare branch.'

Tips

history

Closing line of 杜秋娘《金缕衣》 (Du Qiuniang, attrib., Tang, c. 9th c.): 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 (I urge you not to treasure the gold-threaded robe; I urge you to treasure your youthful years. When the flower blooms and may be plucked, just pluck it — don't wait till it's gone to break the empty branch). Du Qiuniang was a Tang courtesan-turned-consort; the poem is both carpe-diem advice and a warning about wasted opportunity.

usage

空 here = classical 'in vain / to no purpose,' not 'empty' in the physical sense. 莫 = classical negative imperative ('don't'). Canonically preceded by 花开堪折直须折; the couplet is almost always cited as a pair.

Stroke Order

莫 mò

待 dài

无 wú

花 huā

空 kōng

折 zhé

枝 zhī