沧海桑田
cāng hǎi sāng tián
the world changes beyond recognition over time
Character by character
沧cāng
blue
blue
海hǎi
sea
sea
桑sāng
mulberry
mulberry
田tián
fields
fields
Example
几十年没回来，家乡已是沧海桑田。
After decades away, my home town has changed beyond recognition.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
Seas turn into mulberry fields and back again.
Learn this in Lesson 75 · HSK 6–7: 朝代一览 (The dynasties at a glance)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. This lesson is free.
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