諺語 · a single proverb
活到老學到老
Simplified: 活到老学到老
What does 活到老學到老 (huó dào lǎo xué dào lǎo) mean?
活到老學到老 (huó dào lǎo xué dào lǎo) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "live until old, learn until old." In use it means: Learning never stops; as long as you are alive, there is something new to understand. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Water note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Monkey.
Literally: "live until old, learn until old."
The reading
The eighty-year-old student is not behind. The eighty-year-old student has been learning for eighty years and still finds the subject interesting. That is not a slow learner. That is a deep one. The person who stops learning has decided the world is finished producing new things, and the world has never once agreed with that decision.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Common folk proverb; attributed to various sources, universally known
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Wisdom & Learning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Monkey, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 活到老學到老 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 活到老學到老 (huó dào lǎo xué dào lǎo) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Common folk proverb; attributed to various sources, universally known. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 活到老學到老?
In Mandarin it is huó dào lǎo xué dào lǎo. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 活到老學到老 aloud in Mandarin.