白驹过隙 bái jū guò xì
time flies; life passes as swiftly as a white colt glimpsed through a crack
Literally: white colt pass crack
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Origin
From the Zhuangzi: human life between heaven and earth is like a white colt flashing past a crack in a wall.
How to use it
Predicate or attributive; neutral, literary and wistful. Often 时光如白驹过隙.
Example sentences
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- 时光如白驹过隙，转眼我们已经毕业二十年了。Shíguāng rú bái jū guò xì, zhuǎnyǎn wǒmen yǐjīng bìyè èrshí nián le.Time flies like a white colt past a crack; in the blink of an eye we graduated twenty years ago.time like white colt pass crack, blink we already graduate twenty years (particle)
- 人生白驹过隙，不要把时间浪费在无谓的争吵上。Rénshēng bái jū guò xì, bù yào bǎ shíjiān làngfèi zài wúwèi de zhēngchǎo shàng.Life is fleeting; do not waste time on pointless quarrels.life white colt pass crack, not want (object-marker) time waste on meaningless (particle) quarrel on
More chengyu about time & change
- 川流不息chuān liú bù xīflowing past in an endless stream; a constant stream of people or traffic
- 层出不穷céng chū bù qióngto emerge one after another; to appear endlessly
- 稍纵即逝shāo zòng jí shìfleeting; gone in a flash if not seized
- 转瞬即逝zhuǎn shùn jí shìto pass in the blink of an eye; transient
- 沧海桑田cāng hǎi sāng tiánseas change into mulberry fields; great changes wrought by time
- 一如既往yì rú jì wǎngjust as before; consistently, as always
- 蒸蒸日上zhēng zhēng rì shàngto flourish and grow day by day; thriving
- 瞬息万变shùn xī wàn biànchanging every instant; in constant flux