Daily Chengyu

水滴石穿

shuǐ dī shí chuān

Persistence wears down obstacles over time.

Perseverance Hard Work Education Nature

beginnerVery CommonNeutral

Literal Meaning: Water drops pierce stone.

水shuǐwater

滴dīto drip

石shístone

穿chuānto pierce through

Today's Situation

You practice Mandarin tones for ten minutes every day, and after months your pronunciation finally clicks.

Perfect Chengyu: 水滴石穿

Actual Meaning

Use this to praise steady, patient effort that eventually produces big results. It emphasizes consistency over intensity — small actions repeated daily can overcome what seems impossible at first.

Emotional toneEncouraging, steady

Usage feelOften positive or admiring

FormalityNeutral

English Equivalent

Slow and steady wins the race.
Persistence pays off.
Little by little.
Rome wasn't built in a day.

English equivalents capture the general idea, but they may not fit every context exactly.

Modern Usage Example

Language learning is 水滴石穿 — short daily practice beats cramming once a month.

Chinese Example Sentences

Xuéxí yǔyán yào kào shuǐ dī shí chuān, bù néng sān tiān dǎ yú liǎng tiān shài wǎng.

Learning a language depends on steady persistence — you can't work hard one day and slack off the next.

Study advice

Zhǐyào jiānchí, shuǐ dī shí chuān, mùbiāo yīdìng néng shíxiàn.

As long as you keep going, persistence will get you there — your goal can be achieved.

Motivation

Origin Story

A county magistrate wrote that if malicious influence keeps dripping like water on stone, it can bore through rock. The image was later used positively for persistence and moral discipline.

Song dynastyLetter by Zhang Lei (宋·张耒)

When Natives Use It

Good fit

Education — language study and exam prep
Fitness and habit building
Work — long projects and career growth
Family — encouraging children to keep trying

Avoid

Describing instant viral success
Criticizing someone for acting too fast

Warm and widely accepted. Excellent for encouragement. Appears in classrooms, speeches, and self-help writing. Pairs naturally with language-learning products like Chintonic.