一蹴而就

yícù'érjiù
idiom #51,756

Meanings

  1. 1 to accomplish in one stroke
  2. 2 to succeed at the first try
  3. 3 to achieve overnight

Examples

HSK 3
Xuéxí wàiyǔ bù kěnéng yícù'érjiù.
Learning a foreign language cannot be accomplished overnight.
HSK 5
Gǎigé shì yí ge chángqī guòchéng, bù néng yícù'érjiù.
Reform is a long-term process that cannot be achieved in one stroke.

Tips

history
From Su Xun's Song-era 《上田枢密书》: 天下之学者,孰不欲一蹴而造圣人之域 - 'what scholar does not wish to reach the sage's realm in a single step?' Su Xun was criticizing impatience, which is how the phrase is still used.
usage
Almost always appears in a negative construction: 不能一蹴而就 / 不是一蹴而就的 ('cannot be / isn't a one-stroke matter'). The phrase exists mainly to deny that something can be rushed.

Stroke Order

一 yī
蹴 cù
而 ér
就 jiù