📖 Meaning
To live together in love and harmony until old age, referring to a married couple growing old together. It expresses the wish or reality of a lifelong marital bond. The phrase conveys enduring love and commitment between spouses.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Book of Songs (诗经), specifically the poem '氓' (Máng) from the Airs of Wei (卫风), which contains the line '及尔偕老' meaning 'to grow old with you.' In the Ming Dynasty, the playwright Lu Cai (陆采) used the fuller expression '白头偕老' in his drama '怀香记·奉诏班师' (Record of Hidden Fragrance), where a father speaks of living to old age with his wife in both wealth and honor. Over time, the idiom became a standard blessing for married couples.
💡 Example Usage
他们结婚四十年来相敬如宾，真正做到了白头偕老。
They have treated each other with respect for forty years of marriage, truly achieving a lifelong union until old age.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 白头偕老
- Pinyin: bái tóu xié lǎo
- Literal Translation: white head, together, old
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4