冰冻三尺非一日之寒

冰凍三尺非一日之寒

bīngdòngsānchǐfēiyīrìzhīhán

idiom

Meanings

1 three feet of ice is not formed in a single day
2 a serious situation is the result of long-term causes
3 Rome wasn't built in a day

Characters

foot (unit of length)

(possessive particle)

寒

hán

cold

Examples

两国关系恶化到今天这个地步，真是冰冻三尺非一日之寒。

Liǎng guó guānxi èhuà dào jīntiān zhège dìbù, zhēn shì bīng dòng sān chǐ fēi yī rì zhī hán.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated to this point; clearly, three feet of ice doesn't form in a single day.

公司的财务问题冰冻三尺非一日之寒，不可能一下子解决。

Gōngsī de cáiwù wèntí bīng dòng sān chǐ fēi yī rì zhī hán, bù kěnéng yīxiàzi jiějué.

The company's financial problems didn't develop overnight and can't be fixed in one go.

Tips

usage

Used to explain that a present problem has deep historical roots. Often shortened to 冰冻三尺 when context is clear.

Stroke Order

冰 bīng

冻 dòng

三 sān

尺 chǐ

非 fēi

一 yī

日 rì

之 zhī

寒 hán