三十而立
sān shí ér lì
at thirty one should stand on one’s own feet
Character by character
三sān
three
three
十shí
ten
ten
而ér
and so
and so
立lì
stand
stand
Example
都说三十而立，他今年都三十了，还在跟父母要钱，心里很着急。
They say a man should stand on his own two feet by thirty; he is thirty this year and still asking his parents for money, and he is worried.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
From Confucius’s summary of his life. Today it means having a career and a settled life by thirty, often said with a sigh or a joke about pressure. 而立之年 is a polite way to say “thirty years old”.
Learn this in Lesson 86 · HSK 6–7: 孔子其人 (Confucius the man)
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.
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