青梅竹马

青梅竹馬
qīngméi-zhúmǎ
idiom #21,206

Meanings

  1. 1 childhood sweethearts
  2. 2 a couple who grew up together as childhood friends
  3. 3 innocent childhood companionship

Examples

HSK 2
Tāmen shì qīngméi-zhúmǎ, cóngxiǎo yìqǐ zhǎngdà.
They are childhood sweethearts who grew up together.
HSK 4
Qīngméi-zhúmǎ de gǎnqíng wǎngwǎng hěn shēnhòu.
The bond between childhood sweethearts is often very deep.

Tips

history
This idiom comes from a poem by Li Bai (李白): 竹马青梅 - 'He rode a bamboo horse, circling the bed playing with green plums.' It describes an innocent childhood romance.
memory
Picture green plums (青梅) and a hobby-horse (竹马) - two children playing together carefree. The image captures innocent first love.

Stroke Order

qīng
méi
zhú