冰冻三尺 (bīng dòng sān chě) — (idiom) a situation or problem is the result of long-term accumulation; Rome wasn't built in a day
Definition
A chengyu literally meaning 'ice frozen three feet thick' — used to say a serious situation took a long time to develop, like 'Rome wasn't built in a day.' Often paired in full as 冰冻三尺，非一日之寒.
idiom
a situation or problem is the result of long-term accumulationRome wasn't built in a day
Examples
- 冰冻三尺，，。bīng dòng sān chě, Fēi yí rì zhī hán, tā men zhī jiān de wù huì yǐ jīng jī lěi hěn duō nián le.A thick layer of ice cannot be frozen in one day — the misunderstanding between them has been building up for many years.
- ，冰冻三尺，。Bié zháo jí, bīng dòng sān chě, gōng sī rú jīn de kùn jìng bú shì yì tiān zào chéng de.Don't worry — the company's current trouble wasn't created in a single day.
- 冰冻三尺，。Zhè ge tuán duì de mò qì bīng dòng sān chě, dà jiā jīng guò cháng qī hé zuò cái dá dào xiàn zài de gāo dù.This team's rapport is deep — they reached their current level only through long-term collaboration.
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