永葆青春 (yǒng bǎo qīng chūn) — to stay young forever; to retain one's youth

Definition

An idiomatic phrase meaning 'stay young forever,' used to wish or praise lasting youth. Tone is lofty and literary — far more formal than everyday words like 年轻 or 嫩.

verb
to stay young foreverto retain one's youth

Examples

  • ，，永葆青春。
    Tā suī rán liù shí suì le, dàn kàn qǐ lái jiù xiàng sì shí suì, zhēn shì yǒng bǎo qīng chūn.
    Although she is sixty, she looks like she is forty — she really stays young forever.
  • ，永葆青春！
    Zhù nín shēn tǐ jiàn kāng, yǒng bǎo qīng chūn!
    Wishing you good health and eternal youth!
  • 永葆青春。
    Zhè jiā hù fū pǐn hào chēng néng ràng jī fū yǒng bǎo qīng chūn.
    This skincare brand claims to keep your skin youthful forever.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

永葆preserve forever
永yǒngforever葆bǎopreserve
偏正Modifier + head
青春youth
青qīnggreen春chūnspring
偏正Modifier + head

永葆 (“preserve forever”) and 青春 (“youth”) combine to mean keeping youth forever.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 永 was drawn as a long river with side streams, or as a person swimming in water.

Open 永 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
保
保bǎo葆bǎo
Same sound today

葆 is built from 艸 (grass) plus 保, which gives the sound.

Open 葆 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

An early form of 青 combined 生 and 井, both used for sound; the modern form has changed.

Open 青 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss
日日rìsun
Sound part声符shēngfú
屯
屯tún春chūn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

春 combines 艸 (grass) and 日 (sun) with 屯, which supplies the sound and is described as a swollen sprout.

Open 春 →

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