a lame tortoise walking a thousand li; persistence leads to success
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesidiom
persistent effort yields success; constant perseverance overcomes deficiencies
literary出自《荀子·修身》。常用来鼓励人不要因起点低、条件差或天赋不足而放弃，强调持续努力的重要性。
Tā他
jī基
chǔ础
bù不
hǎo好
，
dàn但
píng凭
zhe着
bǒ跛
biē鳖
qiān千
lǐ里
de的
jīng精
shén神
，
zuì最
zhōng终
kǎo考
shàng上
le了
lǐ理
xiǎng想
de的
dà大
xué学
。
He had a poor foundation, but with the spirit of 'a lame tortoise walking a thousand li,' he eventually got into his ideal university.
Gōng公
sī司
chū初
chuàng创
shí时
kùn困
nán难
chóng重
chóng重
，
dàn但
dà大
jiā家
jiān坚
xìn信
bǒ跛
biē鳖
qiān千
lǐ里
，
yī一
bù步
bù步
zǒu走
dào到
le了
jīn今
tiān天
。
The company faced numerous difficulties at its start, but everyone believed in persistent effort, and step by step, they reached where they are today.
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Xué学
xí习
wài外
yǔ语
jiù就
xiàng像
bǒ跛
biē鳖
qiān千
lǐ里
，
měi每
tiān天
jìn进
bù步
yī一
diǎn点
diǎn点
，
shí时
jiān间
cháng长
le了
zì自
rán然
yǒu有
xiào效
guǒ果
。
Learning a foreign language is like 'a lame tortoise walking a thousand li'; making a little progress every day will naturally yield results over time.