晚来天欲雪

晚來天欲雪
Wǎn lái tiān yù xuě
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 evening coming on, the sky about to snow
  2. 2 Bai Juyi's setup for an invitation over wine, the cold outside making the small warm room all the warmer

Examples

HSK 2
Wǎnláitiānyùxuě, bùrú hē yī bēi rèjiǔ.
Evening comes, the sky about to snow, better to have a cup of warm wine.
HSK 7-9
Dōngtiān de zhōumò, chuāngwài " wǎnláitiānyùxuě ", wūlǐ lúhuǒ zhèng wàng.
Winter weekend: outside, 'evening comes, the sky about to snow'; inside, the stove burns bright.

Tips

history
From 《问刘十九》 by 白居易 (Tang dynasty): 绿蚁新醅酒红泥小火炉晚来天欲雪能饮一杯无? Four lines, a perfect invitation to a friend: 'the wine is green-foamed, the stove is lit, snow is coming, fancy a cup?'
usage
here = 'about to / on the verge of', a classical sense that modern Chinese still retains (e.g. 摇摇欲坠).

Stroke Order

wǎn
lái
tiān
xuě