青梅竹馬

Etymology

From a poem by Tang dynasty poet Li Bai:

妾髮初覆額，折花門前劇。郎騎竹馬來，繞床弄青梅。同居長干里，兩小無嫌猜。十四為君婦，羞顏未嘗開。 [Classical Chinese, trad.][▼ expand/hide]
妾发初覆额，折花门前剧。郎骑竹马来，绕床弄青梅。同居长干里，两小无嫌猜。十四为君妇，羞颜未尝开。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Li Bai (701–762), Ballad of a Trader's Wife (長干里), translated by Xu Yuanchong

Qiè fà chū fù é, zhé huā mén qián jù. Láng qí zhúmǎ lái, rào chuáng nòng qīng méi. Tóngjū cháng gān lǐ, liǎng xiǎo wú xián cāi. Shísì wéi jūn fù, xiū yán wèicháng kāi. [Pinyin]

My forehead covered by my hair cut straight,
I played with flowers pluck'd before the gate.
On bobby horse you came upon the scene,
Around the well we played with plums still green.
We lived, close neighbors on Riverside Lane,
Carefree and innocent, we children twain.
At fourteen years when I became your bride,
I'd often turn my bashful face aside. […]

The same poem was also the source of the idiom 兩小無猜／两小无猜 (liǎngxiǎowúcāi), which has a very similar meaning.

Pronunciation

Idiom

青梅竹馬

1. a girl and a boy playing innocently together; a man and a woman who had an innocent affection for each other in childhood; childhood sweethearts

References

• Cai, Junming (蔡俊明) (editor) (1991). “青梅竹馬 ts'e~˧ bue˥ tek˨꜒ be˥˧꜕꜖” in 《潮州方言詞滙》. Hong Kong, T.T. Ng Chinese Language Research Centre, CUHK.