铁杵成针

鐵杵成針
tiěchǔchéngzhēn
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 grind an iron pestle into a needle
  2. 2 achieve the impossible through persistence
  3. 3 perseverance conquers all

Examples

Zhǐyào jiānchí, tiě chǔ yě néng chéng zhēn.
With enough persistence, even an iron pestle can be ground into a needle.
Tā xiāngxìn tiě chǔ chéng zhēn, zài nán de tí yě yào zuò chūlái.
He believes in persistence — no matter how hard the problem, he'll solve it.

Tips

history
From the famous Tang-dynasty legend of the young Li Bai: the future poet, tired of study, meets an old woman grinding an iron pestle on a stone. When he asks why, she answers 'to make a needle'. Shamed by her resolve, Li Bai returns to his books.

Stroke Order

tiě
chǔ
chéng
zhēn