三十而立 — “To establish oneself at thirty”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 三十而立?

指人在三十岁前后有所成就。

三十而立 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to establish oneself at thirty”. To become independent and self-reliant by the age of thirty. Literally, “At thirty, one establishes oneself”.

Frequency

三十而立 Pronunciation and Pinyin

三十而立 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
三	sān	3	the number three
十	shí	2	the number ten
而	ér	6	and, but, then
立	lì	5	stand, establish, immediately

Example Sentence with 三十而立

小明大学毕业后，立志要努力奋斗，争取在三十而立的时候拥有自己的事业。

Xiao Ming, after graduating from university, was determined to work hard and strive to establish his own career by the age of thirty.

Origin and Story of 三十而立

During the Spring and Autumn period, after being marginalized in the political arena of the State of Lu, Confucius led his disciples on a tour of various states. After encountering setbacks in places like Wey, Zheng, Chen, and Jin, he settled in the State of Cai.

There, Confucius spoke with his disciples about his own experiences, saying that he had resolved to spread his philosophy (the Dao) since the age of thirty, but now, nearly seventy, he had still failed to promote benevolent governance. He was filled with emotion... Zai Yu immediately came forward to comfort Confucius.