磨杵成针

磨杵成針

móchǔ-chéngzhēn

idiom

Meanings

1 grinding an iron pestle into a needle
2 unwavering perseverance at a hard task

Characters

Examples

HSK 5

学好一门外语需要磨杵成针的精神。

Xué hǎo yì mén wàiyǔ xūyào móchǔ-chéngzhēn de jīngshén.

Mastering a foreign language requires the perseverance to grind a pestle into a needle.

HSK 7-9

只要有磨杵成针的毅力，没有做不成的事。

Zhǐyào yǒu móchǔ-chéngzhēn de yìlì, méiyǒu zuò bùchéng de shì.

With the perseverance to grind a pestle into a needle, nothing is impossible.

Tips

history

From 《潜确类书》: young 李白 gave up on his studies and wandered off. He met an old woman grinding an iron pestle on a rock. She said she was making it into a needle. Moved by her patience, Li Bai returned to his books and became Tang China's most famous poet.

Stroke Order

磨 mó

杵 chǔ

成 chéng

针 zhēn