水滴石穿

shuǐdī-shíchuān

idiom HSK 7-9

Meanings

1 dripping water wears through stone
2 constant effort overcomes any difficulty

Characters

to pierce through

Examples

HSK 3

学习外语贵在水滴石穿。

Xuéxí wàiyǔ guì zài shuǐdī-shíchuān.

The value in learning a foreign language is in steady daily persistence.

HSK 4

水滴石穿，只要坚持一定会成功。

Shuǐdī-shíchuān, zhǐyào jiānchí yídìng huì chénggōng.

Dripping water wears through stone - persist and you will succeed.

Tips

history

From 《汉书·枚乘传》and the Song collection 《鹤林玉露》: the Song magistrate Zhang Guaiya (张乖崖) caught a petty clerk stealing one coin per day. The clerk protested that one coin was nothing; Zhang wrote the verdict 『一日一钱，千日千钱；绳锯木断，水滴石穿』 - a rope saw fells a tree, a drip wears through stone.

Stroke Order

水 shuǐ

滴 dī

石 shí

穿 chuān