十年磨一剑

十年磨一劍

shíniánmóyījiàn

idiom #63,265

Meanings

1 to spend ten years sharpening a single sword
2 to devote long years to perfecting one thing / patient mastery

Characters

to grind / hone

Examples

他十年磨一剑，终于推出了这部代表作。

Tā shí nián mó yī jiàn, zhōngyú tuīchū le zhè bù dàibiǎo zuò.

After ten years of honing his craft, he finally released this masterpiece.

这款芯片是团队十年磨一剑的成果。

Zhè kuǎn xīnpiàn shì tuánduì shí nián mó yī jiàn de chéngguǒ.

This chip is the fruit of a team's decade-long dedicated effort.

Tips

history

From Tang poet Jia Dao's (贾岛) 《剑客》: 十年磨一剑，霜刃未曾试。今日把示君，谁有不平事？ — 'Ten years I've honed one sword; the frosty blade has yet to be tested. Today I hold it out to you — who has been wronged?' Often used in media headlines about long-awaited products or films.

usage

Heavily used in tech, film, and academic contexts for projects that took many years. Gaokao essays love this phrase.

Stroke Order

十 shí

年 nián

磨 mó

一 yī

剑 jiàn