lack of perseverance; sporadic effort
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesidiom
to study or work by fits and starts; to lack perseverance and diligence
formalDerived from Mencius (《孟子•告子》): '虽有天下易生之物也，一日暴之，十日寒之，未有能生者也。' Originally referred to exposing plants to sun for one day and freezing them for ten days. Now used to describe inconsistent effort in study or work, especially in educational contexts.
Xué学
xí习
yǔ语
yán言
yào要
chí持
zhī之
yǐ以
héng恒
，
bù不
néng能
yī一
pù曝
shí十
hán寒
。
Learning a language requires persistence; you cannot study by fits and starts.
Tā他
zuò做
shì事
zǒng总
shì是
yī一
pù曝
shí十
hán寒
，
suǒ所
yǐ以
hěn很
nán难
yǒu有
suǒ所
chéng成
jiù就
。
He always works by fits and starts, so it is difficult for him to achieve anything.
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Zhè这
zhǒng种
yī一
pù曝
shí十
hán寒
de的
xué学
xí习
tài态
dù度
，
zěn怎
me么
kě可
néng能
qǔ取
de得
hǎo好
chéng成
jì绩
？
How can you possibly get good grades with such a sporadic approach to studying?