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Proverbs

Japanese meaning of 少年老い易く学成り難し

しょうねんおいやすくがくなりがたし (Shōnen oiyasuku gaku narigatashi)

English Translation:

Youth ages quickly, and learning is hard to achieve / Art is long, life is short

Scene:

Meaning & Cultural Context

Meaning:

Youth passes quickly, but learning takes a long time. This proverb urges people to study without wasting time.
日本語で読む
若い時はすぐに過ぎ去るのに、学問はなかなか身につかないという意味。時間をむだにせず学べという教えです。

Cultural Context:

It opens the Chinese poem 偶成, long attributed to the scholar Zhu Xi (朱熹), though this is now doubted. It continues 一寸の光陰軽んずべからず ("do not waste even a moment").
日本語で読む
漢詩「偶成」の冒頭の句で、朱熹の作とされてきましたが、現在は疑問視されています。「一寸の光陰軽んずべからず」と続きます。

Grammar & Learning Points

Grammar Point

易く means "easily," and 難し is the classical form of 難しい, read がたし here.
日本語で読む
「易く」は「たやすく」、「難し」は「難しい」の古い形で、ここでは「がたし」と読みます。

Trap for English Speakers

少年 here means young people in general, not only boys.
日本語で読む
ここでの「少年」は男の子だけでなく、若者全般のことです。

Example

Example 1Basic Example

  1. 大人になって、もっと勉強しておけばよかったと思う。少年老い易く学成り難しだ。

    As an adult, I wish I had studied more. Youth ages quickly, and learning is hard to achieve.

Example 2Applied Example

  1. 老いた剣豪は、木刀を振る弟子に「少年老い易く学成り難し。一日もむだにするな」と告げた。

    The aging master swordsman told his apprentice, who was swinging a wooden sword, "Youth ages quickly, and learning is hard to achieve. Do not waste a single day."

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Meaning

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