相见恨晚 Xiāng jiàn hèn wǎn Meeting too late

Explanation

形容一见如故，意气极其相投，只恨相见得太晚了。

Describes an immediate mutual understanding and a very good match of characters, as if one had known each other for a much longer time.

Origin Story

汉武帝时期，有个名叫主父偃的谋士，才华横溢，却一直没有得到重用。屡屡碰壁后，他最终决定向汉武帝上书，阐述自己的治国理念。汉武帝被他的才华深深折服，立即召见了他。在与主父偃、徐乐、严安等大臣商议国事时，汉武帝不禁感叹道：‘公等皆安在？何相见之晚也！’（诸位先生都在哪里？为什么我们相识这么晚！）这便是‘相见恨晚’的由来，汉武帝与主父偃三人一见如故，推心置腹，从此主父偃成为汉武帝的亲信，为汉武帝的统治做出了很大的贡献。主父偃后来提出了‘推恩令’，为巩固西汉的统治立下了汗马功劳。

hàn wǔ dì shíqī, yǒu gè míng jiào zhǔ fǔ yǎn de móushì, cái huá héng yì, què yī zhí méiyǒu de dào chóng yòng. lǚ lǚ pèng bì hòu, tā zuì zhōng juédìng xiàng hàn wǔ dì shàng shū, chǎnshù zì jǐ de zhì guó lǐ niǎn. hàn wǔ dì bèi tā de cái huá shēn shēn zhè fú, lìjí zhào jiàn le tā. zài yǔ zhǔ fǔ yǎn, xú lè, yán ān děng dà chén shāngyì guóshì shí, hàn wǔ dì bù jīn gǎntàn dào: ‘gōng děng jiē ān zài? hé xiāng jiàn zhī wǎn yě! (zhū wèi xiānshēng dōu zài nǎlǐ? wèishéme wǒmen xiāngshí zhème wǎn!) zhè biàn shì ‘xiāng jiàn hèn wǎn’ de yóulái, hàn wǔ dì yǔ zhǔ fǔ yǎn sān rén yī jiàn rú gù, tuī xīn zhì fù, cóng cǐ zhǔ fǔ yǎn chéngwéi hàn wǔ dì de qīnxìn, wèi hàn wǔ dì de tōngzhì zuò chū le hěn dà de gòngxiàn. zhǔ fǔ yǎn hòulái tíchū le ‘tuī ēn lìng’, wèi gǔnggù xī hàn de tōngzhì lì xià le hàn mǎ gōngláo.

During the Han Dynasty, there was a brilliant advisor named Zifangyan, who spent his life searching for a way to utilize his extraordinary abilities. After many setbacks, he finally decided to write a letter to Emperor Wu, outlining his governing philosophy. Emperor Wu was deeply impressed by his talents and immediately summoned him to an audience. During consultations about state affairs with Zifangyan, Xule, and Yan'an, the other ministers, Emperor Wu sighed: ‘Where were you all this time? Why did we only meet now?‘ (Where were you all this time? Why did we meet so late?) This is the origin of ‘meeting too late’. Emperor Wu and the three men hit it off immediately and confided in each other. From then on, Zifangyan became a close confidant of Emperor Wu and made a great contribution to his reign. Zifangyan later proposed the ‘Law of Extending Favors’, which contributed to the consolidation of the Western Han Dynasty's rule.

Usage

多用于表达对久未相识的朋友的惋惜之情，也用于表达对志同道合的朋友的欣赏之情。

duō yòng yú biǎodá duì jiǔ wèi xiāngshí de péngyǒu de wǎnxī zhī qíng, yě yòng yú biǎodá duì zhì tóng dào hé de péngyǒu de xīnshǎng zhī qíng.

Mainly used to express regret for the late encounter with a friend who has not been seen for a long time, or to express appreciation for a like-minded friend.

Examples

• 两位专家一见如故，相见恨晚，相談甚欢。

  liǎng wèi zhuānjiā yī jiàn rú gù, xiāng jiàn hèn wǎn, tán suán shèn huān.

  The two experts hit it off immediately, they met as old friends and had a very pleasant conversation.

• 他与多年未见的故友重逢，相见恨晚，感慨万千。

  tā yǔ duō nián wèi jiàn de gù yǒu chóng féng, xiāng jiàn hèn wǎn, gǎn kǎi wàn qiān.

  He met an old friend whom he had not seen for many years, and they were both very happy to have found each other again, and there was much to talk about.

Related Idioms

• 一见如故

• 相知恨晚

Opposite Idioms

• 相见不相识

• 久别重逢