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

Jiānkǔ de huánjìng móliàn le tā de yìzhì.
The harsh environment tempered his willpower.
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 — (mó, to grind) + (liàn, to refine/smelt) — like forging steel. Variant 磨练 is treated as equivalent in modern Chinese.

Stroke Order

liàn