You Zi Yin (游子吟) — Meng Jiao
A free printable Chinese handwriting worksheet for Meng Jiao's Tang dynasty poem "You Zi Yin (游子吟)", with pinyin, stroke-order guides, and Chinese writing practice grids.
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Original Poem
慈母手中线，游子身上衣。
临行密密缝，意恐迟迟归。
谁言寸草心，报得三春晖。
Pinyin
cí mǔ shǒu zhōng xiàn， yóu zǐ shēn shàng yī。
lín xíng mì mì fèng， yì kǒng chí chí guī。
shuí yán cùn cǎo xīn， bào dé sān chūn huī。
English Meaning
The thread in a loving mother's hand — the clothes on the wandering son's back. Stitch upon close stitch as he departs, fearing his return will be late. Who says the heart of an inch of grass can ever repay three months of spring sunshine?
Key Vocabulary
Each term links to its word page with more readings and examples.
Practice the Characters
Every character page has a stroke-order animation, step-by-step breakdown, and common words.
About the Poem
Meng Jiao's (751–814) short song for his mother, written late in life after long poverty. The dense stitches of a departing son's coat, and the inch of grass beneath the spring sun, make it the canonical Chinese poem of maternal love.
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