春种一粒粟

春種一粒粟

Chūn zhòng yí lì sù

quotation

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

HSK 6

老师教导我们：春种一粒粟，努力终有回报。

Lǎoshī jiàodǎo wǒmen: chūnzhòngyílìsù, nǔlì zhōng yǒu huíbào.

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

HSK 7-9

春种一粒粟，秋收万颗子，创业也是这个道理。

Chūnzhòngyílìsù, qiūshōuwànkēzǐ, chuàngyè yě shì zhège dàolǐ.

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

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