p8nda
p8nda BETA
Home Dictionary Discord

春色满园关不住

春色滿園關不住
chūnsèmǎnyuánguānbúzhù
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 a garden full of spring cannot be shut in
  2. 2 hidden vitality will always make itself visible
  3. 3 (lit.) spring-color fills the garden, (you) cannot keep it in

Examples

春色满园关不住，一枝红杏出墙来——真是贴切的比喻。
Chūnsè mǎnyuán guān bú zhù, yī zhī hóng xìng chū qiáng lái — zhēnshì tiēqiè de bǐyù.
'Spring in the garden can't be kept in — one red apricot branch leans over the wall' — what a fitting metaphor.
年轻人的才华春色满园关不住，迟早会被看到。
Niánqīng rén de cáihuá chūnsè mǎnyuán guān bú zhù, chízǎo huì bèi kàndào.
The young person's talent cannot be shut in — sooner or later it will be seen.

Tips

history
From Ye Shaoweng's (叶绍翁, Southern Song) 《游园不值》: 春色满园关不住，一枝红杏出墙来。(The garden's spring cannot be shut in — one red apricot branch leans out over the wall.) The poet, denied entry to a garden, notices a single branch escaping over the wall — and decides that's enough to know spring is inside.
usage
The partner line 红杏出墙 (red apricot leaning out the wall) independently became modern slang for 'a wife cheating / having an affair' — so use this phrase with care. In its original sense, the couplet is innocently about concealed beauty revealing itself.

Stroke Order

春 chūn
色 sè
满 mǎn
园 yuán
关 guān
不 bù
住 zhù