📖 Meaning
Refers to a long passage of time or an extended duration. It conveys that something happens gradually, accumulates, or becomes apparent only after many days and years have passed.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from Chapter 69 of Cao Xueqin's Qing-dynasty masterpiece 'Dream of the Red Chamber' (红楼梦). In the story, a character laments that over a long stretch of time, even the servants would begin to gossip and talk back insolently. The phrase captured the gradual erosion of authority and respect that comes with the prolonged passage of days. It has since entered common usage to describe any situation where time itself is the key factor in change or development.
💡 Example Usage
日久天长，一切都会好起来的。
As time goes by, everything will get better.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 日久天长
- Pinyin: rì jiǔ tiān cháng
- Literal Translation: day, long, time, long
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4