磨炼

磨煉
móliàn
verb #37,360

Meanings

  1. 1 to temper (oneself)
  2. 2 to steel through hardship
  3. 3 to hone

Examples

HSK 5
Jiānkǔ de huánjìng móliàn le tā de yìzhì.
The harsh environment tempered his willpower.
HSK 6
Niánqīngrén xūyào zài shíjiàn zhōng móliàn zìjǐ.
Young people need to temper themselves through practice.

Tips

usage
Used almost exclusively for character/willpower/skill, not physical objects. The metaphor is metallurgical - (to grind) + (to refine/smelt) - like forging steel. Variant 磨练 is treated as equivalent in modern Chinese.

Stroke Order

liàn