玉不琢不成器

yùbùzhuóbùchéngqì
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 jade that is not carved cannot become a vessel
  2. 2 without training and hardship no one reaches their potential
  3. 3 raw talent alone produces nothing

Examples

Yù bù zhuó bù chéng qì, háizi zài cōngmíng yě yào hǎohǎo jiàoyù.
Jade uncarved is no vessel — however clever a child is, they still need a proper education.
Shīfu cháng shuō yù bù zhuó bù chéng qì, suǒyǐ xùnliàn tèbié yángé.
Master often says jade must be cut to become a vessel, so the training is especially strict.

Tips

history
From 《礼记·》 (Book of Rites, 'Record of Learning'): 不成不知 — 'jade uncarved is no vessel; a person unschooled does not know the way.' This couplet is the foundational Confucian argument for education as moral cultivation and has been drilled into Chinese schoolchildren for two millennia.
usage
Usually paired with its twin 不知 ('a person who does not study does not know the Way'). (zhuó) here is the jade-cutter's chisel — a deliberate, patient shaping, not a single blow.

Stroke Order

zhuó
chéng