廉颇老矣

廉頗老矣

Lián Pō lǎo yǐ

quotation #67,609

Meanings

1 Lian Po is old
2 old, but still fit to serve?

Characters

Po (given name)

classical particle of completed change

Examples

HSK 5

他三十八岁还在踢球，有人说他廉颇老矣，他却在决赛里连进两球。

Tā sānshíbā suì hái zài tīqiú, yǒurén shuō tā Lián Pō lǎo yǐ, tā què zài juésài lǐ lián jìn liǎng qiú.

He was still playing at thirty-eight. Some said he was past it, but he scored twice in the final.

HSK 7-9

老将军笑着说：“廉颇老矣，尚能饭否？我还能再干几年。”

Lǎo jiāngjūn xiào zhe shuō: " Lián Pō lǎo yǐ, shàng néng fàn fǒu? Wǒ hái néng zài gàn jǐ nián. "

The old general laughed: "Lian Po is old, but can he still eat? I've got a few more years in me."

Tips

history

In the 史记, the king of Zhao sends an envoy to see whether the old general 廉颇 can still fight. Lian Po eats a whole dou of rice and ten jin of meat and mounts his horse in armour, but the envoy, bribed by a rival, reports that he went to the toilet three times in one meal, and the king never calls him back. 辛弃疾 ends a 1205 lyric with 廉颇老矣，尚能饭否, asking it of himself.

Stroke Order

廉 lián

颇 pō

老 lǎo

矣 yǐ