Chinese characters and pinyin
Simplified: 光阴似箭，日月如梭
Traditional: 光陰似箭，日月如梭
Pinyin: guāng yīn sì jiàn, rì yuè rú suō
Literal translation
Time is like an arrow; days and months are like a weaver’s shuttle.
Natural English meaning
Time passes with startling speed.
Closest English equivalent
Time flies.
The Chinese couplet adds two fast-moving images—an arrow and a shuttle.
When to use it
Use it when reflecting on how quickly a period has passed.
When not to use it
Avoid presenting it as a literal rule; the force of the saying depends on context and tone.
Example sentence
转眼孩子都上大学了，真是光阴似箭，日月如梭。
In what feels like a moment, the children are already at university—time flies.
Origin and cultural context
A traditional literary couplet whose paired images became common in popular speech.
Classification: proverb. This label distinguishes a complete proverb or popular saying from a compact idiom or a quotation preserved from a classical text.
