天荒地老

tiānhuāngdìlǎo
idiom #37,765

Meanings

  1. 1 until the end of time
  2. 2 till the seas run dry and the rocks crumble
  3. 3 for ages and ages

Examples

Tāmen fāshì yào ài dào tiānhuāngdìlǎo.
They vowed to love each other until the end of time.
Děng nǐ huílái, wǒ děng dào tiānhuāngdìlǎo dōu yuànyì.
I'm willing to wait for your return until the end of time.

Tips

history
From ·》: '天荒地老无人' — 'I hear that Ma Zhou, sojourning in Xinfeng, went unknown till the heavens grew wild and the earth grew old.' Tang poet Li He coined the phrase to mean 'an unimaginably long stretch of time'.
register
Modern usage is overwhelmingly romantic — vows of eternal love in songs, dramas, and weddings. Pair with 海枯石烂 (hǎikūshílàn, till seas dry and stones crumble) for the full romantic-vow combo.

Stroke Order

tiān
huāng
lǎo