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水滴石穿 (shuǐ dī-shí chuān) — (literal) dripping water penetrates rock; (figurative) constant perseverance leads to success; with steady effort, even the hardest goal can be achieved

Definition

Idiom: 'dripping water wears through stone' — the image of steady, gentle effort eventually breaking through anything. 与 锲而不舍 都讲坚持不懈，但 水滴石穿 强调时间积累的力量，锲而不舍 强调决心不动摇。

phrase
(literal) dripping water penetrates rock(figurative) constant perseverance leads to successwith steady effort, even the hardest goal can be achieved

Examples

  • ，水滴石穿，。
    Zhǐ yào jiān chí bú xiè, shuǐ dī-shí chuān, zài nán de shì qing yě néng zuò chéng.
    As long as you keep persisting, like dripping water wearing through stone, even the hardest thing can be accomplished.
  • 水滴石穿，。
    Xué xí wài yǔ xū yào shuǐ dī-shí chuān de jīng shén, měi tiān jìn bù yì diǎn diǎn.
    Learning a foreign language requires the spirit of constant perseverance, making a little progress every day.
  • 水滴石穿，。
    Zhè ge gù shi gào sù wǒ men shuǐ dī-shí chuān de dào lǐ, xiǎo shì jī lěi duō le jiù huì fā shēng dà biàn huà.
    This story teaches us the principle of constant perseverance: small things accumulated will bring about big changes.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
啻
啻chì滴dī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

滴 has 水, meaning water, on the left, and 啻 on the right, which tells how it sounds.

Open 滴 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 石 shows a stone under a cliff-like overhang, or a cave set into a cliff side.

Open 石 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

穿 puts 穴 (cave) and 牙 (tooth) together to show passing through or penetrating.

Open 穿 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set PhrasesSuccess & Failure

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.