CHENGYU
铁杵成针(tiě chǔ chéng zhēn)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- literary, encouraging
- Source:
- 宋·祝穆《方舆胜览》
MEANING
- Literal
- to grind an iron pestle into a needle
- Figurative meaning
- with persistence anything can be accomplished
ORIGIN STORY
Legend says the boy Li Bai saw an old woman grinding an iron pestle on a stone. Told she was making a needle, he laughed — but she answered: "Grind long enough and iron becomes a needle." Li Bai took the lesson and became a great poet.
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“little strokes fell great oaks”
EXAMPLES
只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针。Zhǐyào gōngfu shēn, tiě chǔ mó chéng zhēn.HSK6
With enough effort, even an iron pestle can be ground into a needle.
他坚持练字二十年，真是铁杵成针。Tā jiānchí liàn zì èrshí nián, zhēn shì tiě chǔ chéng zhēn.HSK6
He practiced calligraphy for twenty years — truly grinding iron into a needle.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: Note the reading: 杵 is chǔ. The lesson is persistence, not the literal task.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN
Tap a character to explore it
TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01