📖 Meaning
Time will not wait for us. It is a lamentation that opportunities have been missed and it is now too late to act. The phrase conveys a sense of urgency and regret over lost time.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from the Analects of Confucius (《论语·阳货》), a foundational text of the Spring and Autumn period (771–476 BCE). In the original passage, Confucius sighs that the days and months are slipping away, and the years will not wait for anyone. The phrase uses an inverted grammatical structure where '与我' (wait for me) is reversed to '我与'. Later writers such as the Qing-era scholar Zhang Binglin echoed this sentiment in letters urging decisive action, reinforcing the idiom's association with regret over missed opportunities.
💡 Example Usage
创业的机会稍纵即逝，时不我与，我们应当果断出手。
Entrepreneurial opportunities are fleeting, and time waits for no one — we should act decisively.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 时不我与
- Pinyin: shí bù wǒ yǔ
- Literal Translation: time, not, me, wait
- Category: Philosophy
- Characters: 4