# 事过境迁

shì guò jìng qiān

Circumstances have changed since the event

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** The affair passes and the setting changes

**Traditional Chinese:** 事過境遷

**Register:** Standard · expressive

[Change & possibility](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/change)

## When to use it

Use when an earlier judgment no longer fits.

Does not erase responsibility for past harm.

## Understanding the expression

An event belongs to one set of circumstances, but time moves both the event and its setting into the past. The expression reminds people that present conditions may differ from those behind an old decision or dispute. It can encourage reconsideration rather than stubborn repetition. Changed circumstances do not automatically remove past obligations. The useful question is which assumptions no longer apply and which consequences still need attention.

## Examples

如今事过境迁，计划要重做。

### Traditional Chinese

如今事過境遷，計劃要重做。

rú jīn shì guò jìng qiān ， jì huà yào zhòng zuò 。

Circumstances have changed, so the plan needs revising.

事过境迁，他已不再怨恨。

### Traditional Chinese

事過境遷，他已不再怨恨。

shì guò jìng qiān ， tā yǐ bú zài yuàn hèn 。

With time and changed circumstances, he no longer feels resentment.

十年过去，早已事过境迁。

### Traditional Chinese

十年過去，早已事過境遷。

shí nián guò qù ， zǎo yǐ shì guò jìng qiān 。

Ten years have passed, and circumstances are very different.

虽然事过境迁，欠款仍须偿还。

### Traditional Chinese

雖然事過境遷，欠款仍須償還。

suī rán shì guò jìng qiān ， qiàn kuǎn réng xū cháng huán 。

Although circumstances have changed, the debt still needs repayment.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E4%BA%8B%E9%81%8E%E5%A2%83%E9%81%B7)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=780&webMd=1&la=0)

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