諺語 · a single proverb
相見恨晚
Simplified: 相见恨晚
What does 相見恨晚 (xiāng jiàn hèn wǎn) mean?
相見恨晚 (xiāng jiàn hèn wǎn) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "meeting and regretting it was so late." In use it means: The feeling when you meet someone and wish you had known them years earlier. The connection is immediate and the regret is for all the time that passed without it. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Fire note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Dog.
Literally: "meeting and regretting it was so late."
The reading
You talk for five minutes and realize this person understands something you have been trying to explain to everyone else for years. Where were you? The question is not really about geography. It is about timing. Some people arrive in your life exactly when you need them. The regret about the lateness is just the gratitude trying to be greedy.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Records of the Grand Historian 史記; classical literary 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 Friendship, Trust & Speech, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Dog, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 相見恨晚 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 相見恨晚 (xiāng jiàn hèn wǎn) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Records of the Grand Historian 史記; classical literary 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 相見恨晚?
In Mandarin it is xiāng jiàn hèn wǎn. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 相見恨晚 aloud in Mandarin.