LookupMandarin · 繁體 · English

ChineseCharactersMeanings inMandarin–English · CC-CEDICTSources ↗

DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

及時行樂

简及时行乐 · 繁及時行樂

Mandarin · pinyin jí shí xíng lè

to enjoy the present (idiom); to live happily with no thought for the future
make merry while you can
carpe diem

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

及: jí · extend; reach; come up to; and
時: shí · time, season; era, age, period
行: xíng · go; walk; move, travel; circulate; Kangxi radical 144
樂: lè · happy, glad; enjoyable; music
时: shí · time, season; era, age, period
乐: lè · happy, glad; enjoyable; music

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2–2–2–4 · ji2 shi2 xing2 le4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

6character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

kap6 si4 hang4 lok6

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to make merry while one can; carpe diem

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack