而立之年

Mandarin · pinyin ér lì zhī nián

Meanings

  1. (idiom) the age of 30
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Characters in this entry

而
ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
立
lì · stand; let stand; establish, set
之
zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
年
nián · year; new-years; person's age
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–4–1–2 · er2 li4 zhi1 nian2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ji4 laap6 zi1 nin4

Cantonese word readings for 而立之年. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

  1. (idiomatic) thirty years old

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

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