春种一粒粟

春種一粒粟

chūnzhòngyílìsù

phrase

Meanings

1 in spring, one plants a single grain of millet
2 fig. a small seed of effort can yield an abundant harvest
3 the opening image of Li Shen's famous verse on farmers' toil

Characters

grain (measure word)

Examples

春种一粒粟，秋收万颗子——创业也是这个道理。

Chūn zhòng yí lì sù, qiū shōu wàn kē zǐ — chuàngyè yě shì zhè ge dàolǐ.

'In spring plant one grain, in autumn harvest ten thousand seeds' — the same logic applies to starting a business.

老师教导我们：春种一粒粟，努力终有回报。

Lǎoshī jiàodǎo wǒmen: chūn zhòng yí lì sù, nǔlì zhōng yǒu huíbào.

The teacher told us: plant a single grain in spring — effort always brings reward.

Tips

history

The opening line of Li Shen's (李绅) Tang poem 《悯农》其一 (Pity the Farmer, no. 1): 春种一粒粟，秋收万颗子。四海无闲田，农夫犹饿死。 — 'In spring he plants one grain of millet; in autumn he harvests ten thousand seeds. No field within the four seas lies idle — yet still the farmer starves.' A standard primary-school memorized poem on peasant hardship.

usage

Almost always cited with the matching line 秋收万颗子. 粟 (sù) here means millet, the staple grain of ancient north China. Used in education and agricultural rhetoric.

Stroke Order

春 chūn

种 zhǒng

一 yī

粒 lì

粟 sù