童子六七人

tóngzǐliùqīrén

phrase

Meanings

1 six or seven young boys
2 companion half to 冠者五六人 — Zeng Dian's ideal spring picnic in the Analects

Characters

(suffix: person)

Examples

老师一说"冠者五六人"，同学们马上接"童子六七人"。

Lǎoshī yī shuō "guàn zhě wǔ liù rén", tóngxuémen mǎshàng jiē "tóngzǐ liù qī rén".

The moment the teacher said 'five or six capped youths,' the students picked up 'six or seven young boys.'

春日郊游，童子六七人，正是《论语》里的画面。

Chūnrì jiāoyóu, tóngzǐ liù qī rén, zhèng shì 《Lúnyǔ》 lǐ de huàmiàn.

A spring outing with six or seven young boys — the very scene from the Analects.

Tips

history

From 《论语·先进》, Zeng Dian's 'sitting in attendance' 侍坐 passage: '冠者五六人，童子六七人，浴乎沂，风乎舞雩，咏而归.' Confucius, hearing this humble ambition, sighs '吾与点也' — 'I'm with Dian.'

usage

Classical counting: 五六人 / 六七人 = 'five or six,' 'six or seven.' Still perfectly natural in modern Chinese.

Stroke Order

童 tóng

子 zǐ

六 liù

七 qī

人 rén