滴水穿石

dīshuǐ-chuānshí

idiom #85,508

Meanings

HSK 5

学习外语靠的是滴水穿石的功夫。

Xuéxí wàiyǔ kào de shì dīshuǐchuānshí de gōngfu.

Learning a foreign language relies on water-wearing-stone persistence.

HSK 7-9

他用滴水穿石的精神攻克了难题。

Tā yòng dīshuǐchuānshí de jīngshén gōngkè le nántí.

With dogged persistence, he solved the hard problem.

history

Shortened from Song-dynasty Luo Dajing's 《鹤林玉露》: 绳锯木断，水滴石穿 ('a rope saws through wood, water drips through stone').

memory

Almost identical in meaning to English 'constant dripping wears away the stone' - a rare case of near-perfect translation.

滴 dī

水 shuǐ

穿 chuān

石 shí