桃李满门

Pronunciation: táo lǐ mǎn mén Literal meaning: Peaches and plums fill the gate

Origin & Usage

This idiom describes peaches (桃) and plums (李) filling (满) the gate (门). Students are metaphorically called peach and plum trees because teachers cultivate them like gardeners. A teacher with many successful students has peaches and plums everywhere. Modern usage describes successful educators whose former students have achieved great things.

Examples

English: "The retired professor has trained hundreds of successful scholars."

Chinese: 退休教授桃李满门，培养了数百名成功的学者。