三十而立

sānshí'érlì

idiom

Meanings

1 to stand firm at thirty
2 to be established in life by age thirty

Characters

to stand, be established

Examples

古人说三十而立，我还差得远呢。

Gǔrén shuō sānshí'érlì, wǒ hái chà de yuǎn ne.

The ancients said one should be established at thirty — I'm still far from it.

他三十而立，已经有了自己的事业。

Tā sānshí'érlì, yǐjīng yǒule zìjǐ de shìyè.

By thirty he was 'established' — already running his own business.

Tips

history

From 《论语·为政》 — Confucius's autobiographical arc: 'At fifteen I set my heart on learning; at thirty I stood firm; at forty I had no doubts...' Still a cultural benchmark for 30-year-olds in China.

Stroke Order

三 sān

十 shí

而 ér

立 lì