活久见

活久見
huójiǔjiàn
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 if you live long enough, you'll see anything
  2. 2 I never thought I'd see the day
  3. 3 well I'll be damned

Examples

HSK 3
Huójiǔjiàn, jīntiān de tàiyáng cóng xībiān chūlái le.
Well I'll be damned, today the sun rose in the west.
HSK 7-9
Tā jūrán zhǔdòng dàoqiàn, zhēnshì huójiǔjiàn!
He actually apologized first - never thought I'd see the day!

Tips

usage
Internet neologism (c. 2006), short for 活得久了什么都能见到 ('live long enough and you'll see anything'). Used as a standalone exclamation when something unbelievable happens. Very informal - fine in chats, avoid in formal writing.
memory
Read literally: 活 (live) + 久 (long) + 见 (see) - 'live long, see [it]'. The word order mimics English 'live to see the day'.

Stroke Order

活 huó
久 jiǔ
见 jiàn