绿叶成阴 — “Refers to a woman who has married and given birth to children”

绿叶成阴 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “refers to a woman who has married and given birth to children”. Often implying the passage of time. It can also metaphorically describe luxuriant foliage providing dense shade. Literally, “Green leaves form shade”.

Frequency

绿叶成阴 Pronunciation and Pinyin

绿叶成阴 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
绿	lǜ	11	green color
叶	yè	5	leaf
成	chéng	7	to become or succeed
阴	yīn	7	dark, feminine, hidden, negative

Example Sentence with 绿叶成阴

时光飞逝，当年那个活泼的姑娘，如今也已绿叶成阴，家庭幸福美满。

Time flies; that lively girl from years ago has now married and had children, living a happy and fulfilling family life.

Origin and Story of 绿叶成阴

During the Tang Dynasty, the poet Du Mu was traveling in Huzhou when he saw an old woman with a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl. The girl was exceptionally beautiful, and Du Mu was captivated by her. He proposed to the old woman and promised to marry the girl within ten years.

Fourteen years later, when Du Mu became the prefect of Huzhou, the girl had already married and had children.

Feeling a sense of regret, Du Mu composed a poem lamenting the passage of time and lost opportunity: "Violent winds have scattered all the crimson, green leaves have formed shade, and branches are full of fruit."