📖 Meaning
A friendship formed between people of significantly different ages, disregarding the gap in generations. It describes a deep bond where mutual respect and shared interests outweigh the difference in years.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase traces to the Eastern Han dynasty, recorded in the Book of the Later Han (《后汉书·祢衡传》). The prodigy Mi Heng was only twenty (just past his capping age) when he met Kong Rong, who was already forty, yet the two became close friends. A second source, the History of the Southern Dynasties (《南史·何逊传》), recounts how the young scholar He Xun was praised by the senior official Fan Yun over his exam essay, leading Fan Yun to form just such an age-defying friendship.
💡 Example Usage
他们虽相差二十岁，却因志趣相投结为忘年之交。
Though twenty years apart in age, they became friends who disregarded the generation gap due to their shared interests.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 忘年之交
- Pinyin: wàng nián zhī jiāo
- Literal Translation: forget, age, of, friendship
- Category: Quality
- Characters: 4