Meaning of 青春
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- youth
- youthfulness
How to use 青春
青春 is a noun for the period of being young and the energy that comes with it. It often appears in phrases like 青春期 (qīngchūnqī, puberty) or with verbs like 浪费 (làngfèi, to waste). Example: 别浪费你的青春。(Bié làngfèi nǐ de qīngchūn.) Don't waste your youth.
青 (qīng) is the fresh green-blue color of new plants, and 春 (chūn) is spring. Put green and spring together and you get the fresh, growing season of a person's life: youth.
Common mistake: Learners often use 青春 to mean a young person, but it means the time or quality of youth. For a young person, use 青年 (qīngnián) or 年轻人 (niánqīngrén). Also keep both syllables in first tone: qīng chūn, not qíng chūn.
青春 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
青 qīng · green · 8 strokes
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春 chūn · springtime · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 青春.
| 春天 | chūntiān | spring (season) |
| 青年 | qīngnián | youth; youthful years |
| 青少年 | qīng-shàonián | adolescent; youth |
| 春节 | Chūnjié | Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) |
| 春季 | chūnjì | springtime |
| 青蛙 | qīngwā | frog (CL:隻|只[zhi1]); (old) (slang) ugly guy |
| 青春期 | qīngchūnqī | puberty; adolescence |
| 万古长青 | wàngǔ-chángqīng | (idiom) enduring through the ages; ever-flourishing |
| 刺青 | cìqīng | to tattoo; a tattoo |
| 小春 | xiǎochūn | 10th month of the lunar calendar; Indian summer |
| 年青 | niánqīng | youthful |
| 春日 | chūnrì | springtime |
Questions about 青春
What does 青春 mean?
青春 (qīngchūn) means "youth; youthfulness" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 青春?
青春 is made of 2 characters: 青 (8 strokes), 春 (9 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 青春 an HSK word?
Yes. 青春 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 青春 and 年轻?
青春 is a noun meaning youth or youthfulness. 年轻 (niánqīng) is an adjective meaning young, as in 他很年轻 (tā hěn niánqīng), he is very young. You cannot say 他很青春 in standard usage.
Can 青春 describe something that looks young or lively?
Yes, in casual modern speech 青春 can work like an adjective meaning youthful, for example 这件衣服很青春 (zhè jiàn yīfu hěn qīngchūn), this outfit looks very youthful. This is informal, so in writing it is safer to use it as a noun.