耳顺

耳順
ěrshùn
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 the age of sixty
  2. 2 pleasant to the ear

Examples

HSK 7-9
他年逾耳顺,依然每天坚持练字。
Tā niányú ěrshùn, yīrán měitiān jiānchí liànzì.
He is past sixty but still practises calligraphy every day.
HSK 7-9
Zhè shǒu gē de xuánlǜ tīng zhe tǐng ěrshùn de.
The melody of this song is quite pleasant to listen to.

Tips

history
From the Analects, Book 2: 六十而耳顺 'at sixty my ear was attuned', the stage at which Confucius could hear anything and take it calmly. Hence 耳顺之年 'the age of sixty', one of a series of age names: 而立 30, 不惑 40, 知命 50, 耳顺 60, 古稀 70.
usage
In everyday speech it can also mean 'easy on the ear', the same as 顺耳: 听着耳顺 'sounds nice'.

Stroke Order

耳 ěr
顺 shùn