諺語 · a single proverb
冬天來了，春天還會遠嗎
What does 冬天來了，春天還會遠嗎 (dōng tiān lái le chūn tiān hái huì yuǎn ma) mean?
冬天來了，春天還會遠嗎 (dōng tiān lái le chūn tiān hái huì yuǎn ma) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "winter has come, can spring be far." In use it means: After hardship, good times are coming; if winter is here, spring cannot be far away. 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 Ox.
Literally: "winter has come, can spring be far."
The reading
The cold is complete and the ground is hard and the trees are bare, and none of this means the year has stopped. Winter is not an ending but the fullest form of one season, and what follows it has never once failed to come. This knowledge belongs to the earth itself; we borrow it when the dark is heavy.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Inspired by Shelley's Ode to the West Wind; deeply embedded in Chinese folk expression
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 Adversity & Resilience, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Ox, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Tiger.
Questions
Is 冬天來了，春天還會遠嗎 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 冬天來了，春天還會遠嗎 (dōng tiān lái le chūn tiān hái huì yuǎn ma) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Inspired by Shelley's Ode to the West Wind; deeply embedded in Chinese folk expression. 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 冬天來了，春天還會遠嗎?
In Mandarin it is dōng tiān lái le chūn tiān hái huì yuǎn ma. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 冬天來了，春天還會遠嗎 aloud in Mandarin.