諺語 · a single proverb
似水年華
Simplified: 似水年华
What does 似水年華 (sì shuǐ nián huá) mean?
似水年華 (sì shuǐ nián huá) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "years flowing like water." In use it means: Time passes quickly and irretrievably, like water that cannot flow upstream; the swiftness of life. 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 Horse.
Literally: "years flowing like water."
The reading
You blink and a decade is gone. You blink again and the children are grown. The water does not speed up. Your attention does. The years that feel shortest are the ones you were too busy to notice, and noticing is the only brake that works. Look around you right now. This is the year you will someday wish you could return to.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Common literary phrase; appears across Tang-Song poetry
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 Nature, Seasons & Health, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Horse, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 似水年華 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 似水年華 (sì shuǐ nián huá) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Common literary phrase; appears across Tang-Song poetry. 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 似水年華?
In Mandarin it is sì shuǐ nián huá. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 似水年華 aloud in Mandarin.