锲而不舍
- Literal
- to keep carving and never let go
- Figurative
- To persevere doggedly without ever giving up; to keep at something with constant effort until the goal is reached.
Where does 锲而不舍 come from?
The phrase comes from Xunzi's essay "Exhortation to Learning" (劝学), written by the Warring States philosopher Xunzi. To teach the value of constancy, Xunzi wrote: "If you carve and give up halfway, even rotten wood will not break through; but if you keep carving and never let go, metal and stone can be engraved." It is not a tale with characters but an image within his argument: success comes not from sudden talent but from sustained effort. Patient perseverance, Xunzi held, can master even materials that seem impossible to work.
Source (出处): 《荀子·劝学》
How is 锲而不舍 used? Two examples
- 他学中文学了十年，锲而不舍，现在说得跟本地人一样好。
He has studied Chinese for ten years without ever giving up, and now he speaks it as well as a native.
- 只要锲而不舍，再难的问题也能解决。
As long as you persevere doggedly, even the hardest problem can be solved.
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