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熟能生巧 (shú néng shēng qiǎo) — (idiom) practice makes perfect; skill comes from practice

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'practice makes perfect' — the more you do something, the more skillful you become. Used to encourage patience and steady practice, especially when learning a skill.

idiom
practice makes perfectskill comes from practice

Examples

  • ，熟能生巧。
    Xué xí wài yǔ xū yào duō liàn xí, shú néng shēng qiǎo.
    Learning a foreign language requires lots of practice — practice makes perfect.
  • ，熟能生巧。
    Tā tán gāng qín tán dé zhè me hǎo, zhēn shì shú néng shēng qiǎo.
    He plays the piano so well — truly, practice makes perfect.
  • ，，熟能生巧。
    Bié zháo jí, màn màn lái, shú néng shēng qiǎo.
    Don't rush, take it slow — practice makes perfect.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

熟 combines 孰 (cooked; ripe) with 灬 (fire), showing food cooked with fire.

Open 熟 →

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

能 is an old picture of a bear, showing two paws and a face with an open mouth.

Open 能 →

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

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
工工gōng
Sound part声符shēngfú
丂
丂kǎo巧qiǎo
Same sound today

巧 is made of 工 and 丂; 工 points to its meaning, and 丂 points to its sound.

Open 巧 →
Appears in
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