📖 Meaning
This idiom refers to a situation where one's fate and the passing years fail to align, resulting in misfortune or bad luck. It is often used to console someone who has suffered hardship not of their own making, attributing the trouble to unfavorable timing and destiny rather than personal fault.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from Chapter 8 of the Ming dynasty novel 'Water Margin' (水浒传) by Shi Nai'an. In the story, Instructor Zhang (张教头) comforts his son-in-law Lin Chong, who has been framed and exiled, telling him that his misfortune was the result of unaligned fate rather than any wrongdoing of his own. The phrase thus came to describe bad fortune caused by a mismatch between one's destiny and the times one lives in.
💡 Example Usage
纵然才学满腹，奈何天年不齐，半生蹉跎。
Though his belly was full of learning, alas, his fate and the times were not aligned, and half his life was wasted.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 天年不齐
- Pinyin: tiān nián bù qí
- Literal Translation: destiny, years, not, aligned
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4