老骥伏枥,志在千里

lǎo jì fú lì , zhì zài qiān lǐ

lit. an old steed in the stable still aspires to gallop 1000 miles (idiom); fig. old people may still cherish high aspirations

lǎo

prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity

thoroughbred horse

to lean over

type of oak

,

zhì

sign

zài

to exist; to be alive

qiān

used in 鞦韆|秋千[qiu1 qian1]

li, ancient measure of length, approx. 500 m