Chinese word dictionary

磨杵成针

mó chǔ chéng zhēn · to grind an iron bar down to a fine needle (idiom); fig. to persevere in a difficult task; to study diligently

Practice word

Word information

Simplified磨杵成针

Traditional磨杵成針

Pinyinmó chǔ chéng zhēn

Part of speechDictionary

HSK 3.0Not listed

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

磨mó

millstone; to grind, to polish, to rub, to wear out

杵chǔ

pestle; to grind

成chéng

to accomplish; to become; to complete, to finish; to succeed

针zhēn

needle, pin, tack; acupuncture

How to learn 磨杵成针

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

变成biànchéng

to change into; to turn into; to become

成绩chéngjì

achievement; performance records; grades; CL:項|项[xiang4],個|个[ge4]

完成wánchéng

to complete; to accomplish

成功chénggōng

Chenggong or Chengkung town in Taitung County 臺東縣|台东县[Tai2 dong1 Xian4], southeast Taiwan; to succeed; success; successful; fruitful

成为chéngwéi

to become; to turn into

打针dǎzhēn

to give or get an injection