晨昏定省
chén hūn dìng xǐng
to attend to one’s parents morning and evening
Character by character
晨chén
morning
morning
昏hūn
dusk
dusk
定dìng
settle
settle
省xǐng
ask after
ask after
Example
古人讲究晨昏定省，现在的年轻人工作忙，能每周给父母打个电话就不错了。
The ancients insisted on attending to their parents morning and evening; young people today are busy, and if they ring their parents once a week, that is not bad at all.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
From 《礼记》: 昏定而晨省, in the evening settle your parents for the night, in the morning ask how they slept. 省 is read xǐng (to visit, to examine), as in 反省, not shěng. Today literary or half-joking.
Learn this in Lesson 46 · HSK 5–6: 孝与顺 (Filial piety)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
Open the lesson →