都是陈年旧事了
“That's all bygones.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
二十年前
“20 years ago.”
都是 陈年旧事 了
“That's all bygones.”
陈年旧事啊
“Bygones?”
“It happened a long time ago, so stop bringing it up.”
In Chinese discourse, labeling a past incident as ancient history is a common face-saving strategy to deflect responsibility and avoid uncomfortable confrontations.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
events of long ago; ancient history
A common four-character idiom used to describe distant past events, often used when dismissing past conflicts.
Indicates a completed state or change, underscoring that the matter is settled and belongs in the past.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“That's all in the past. What do you mean by bringing this up now?”
“put this behind you?”
“It's been so long since this happened.”
“it has been so many years.”
“(seemed to lie many long-buried past events,)”
“Let the past stay in the past.”
“Some have already become the past.”
“these are all in the past.”
“That is a matter of the past.”
“It's a problem left over from the past.”
“The Revolutionary Committee era is over.”