諺語 · a single proverb
磨杵成針
Simplified: 磨杵成针
What does 磨杵成針 (mó chǔ chéng zhēn) mean?
磨杵成針 (mó chǔ chéng zhēn) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "grind a pestle into a needle." In use it means: With enough patience and persistence, even the most impossible-seeming task can be accomplished. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Metal note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Ox.
Literally: "grind a pestle into a needle."
The reading
The pestle is thick. The needle is thin. The distance between them is measured in years. But the woman at the stone did not measure it. She simply ground. Day after day, the pestle got thinner. The lesson is not about the needle. It is about the willingness to keep going when the result is too far away to see.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Legend associated with Li Bai 李白; recorded in Fangyu Shenglan 方輿勝覽 (Song dynasty)
Sits beside
Keep reading
Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Perseverance & the Long Road, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Ox, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Tiger.
Questions
Is 磨杵成針 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 磨杵成針 (mó chǔ chéng zhēn) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Legend associated with Li Bai 李白; recorded in Fangyu Shenglan 方輿勝覽 (Song dynasty). It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 磨杵成針?
In Mandarin it is mó chǔ chéng zhēn. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 磨杵成針 aloud in Mandarin.