磨杵成针 Grinding an Iron Pestle into a Needle

磨杵成针 (móchǔchéngzhēn) Grinding an Iron Pestle into a Needle

李白小时候特贪玩，一到上课就走神。
Lǐ Bái xiǎo shíhou tè tānwán, yí dào shàngkè jiù zǒushén.
Li Bai was fond of playing when he was young, so he was always absent-minded in classes. (Editor’ s note: Li Bai was one of the most famous poets in China’ s history.)

今天这山捉小鸟，明天那山去摘枣。
Jīntiān zhè shān zhuō xiǎoniǎo, míngtiān nà shān qù zhāizǎo.
Today he would catch little birds on the hill, and tomorrow he would pick dates on that hill.

下了山过小河，河边坐着老婆婆。
Xiàle shān guò xiǎohé, hébiān zuòzhe lǎopópo.
One day, he saw an old lady sitting at the riverside when he was crossing the brook.

老婆婆不怕累，正磨一根铁棒锤。
Lǎopópo búpà lèi, zhèng mó yì gēn tiěbàngchui.
The old lady was grinding an iron pestle without fear of tiredness.

李白看了笑呵呵，说：“傻子才干这种活呢！”
Lǐ Bái kàn le xiàohēhē, shuō: “Shǎzi cái gàn zhè zhǒng huó ne!”
On seeing this, Li Bai laughed at her and said: “People who do this job are fools.”

老婆婆慈祥地说：“不怕铁棒粗又硬，我要磨成绣花针！”
Lǎopópo cíxiáng de shuō: “Búpà tiěbàng cū yòu yìng, wǒ yào mó chéng xiùhuāzhēn!”
The old lady answered kindly: “I am determined to grind the iron pestle into a needle even if the iron pestle is so thick and hard.”

李白拿过铁棒锤，没磨几下就喊累，说：“哎呦，什么时候能磨成啊？我不干了！”
Lǐ Bái ná guò tiěbàngchui, méi mó jǐ xià jiù hǎn lèi, shuō: “Āiyōu, shénme shíhou néng mó chéng a? Wǒ bú gàn le!”
Li Bai took the iron pestle and felt tired after grinding it for a minute. Then he complained: “Oh, how long can I get it done? I quit.”

老婆婆摇摇头，叹息道：“只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针！”
Lǎopópo yáoyao tóu, tànxī dào: ” Zhǐyāo gōngfu shēn, tiěchǔ mó chéng zhēn!”
The old lady shook her head and sighed: “The pestle can be grinded into a needle, as long as you keep working hard.”

老婆婆的话值千金，李白牢牢记在心！
Lǎopópo de huà zhí qiānjīn, Lǐ Bái láoláo jì zài xīn!
The old lady’s words were so worthwhile, and Li Bai remembered them by heart.

从此读书不怕苦，成了一位大诗人！
Cóngcǐ dúshū búpà kǔ, chéngle yí wèi dà shīrén!
From then on, he spared no pains to study, and became a great poet finally.

Usage

The phrase “磨杵成针 (móchǔchéngzhēn)” means no matter how difficult or challenging a task is, it can be done as long as there is perseverance. “磨 (mó)” means to grind and “杵 (chǔ)” refers to pestle. “成 (chéng)” means to become and “针 (zhēn)” refers to needle.

Example：

没有磨杵成针的毅力，学问上就不可能有很深的造诣。
Méiyǒu móchǔchéngzhēn de yìlì, xuéwèn shàng jiù bùkěnéng yǒu hěn shēn de zàoyì.
There is no profound knowledge and scholarship without the spirit of grinding an iron pestle into a needle.

生词 (shēngcí) Vocabulay

磨 (mó): v to grind
杵 (chǔ): n pestle
贪玩 (tānwán): v to be fond of having too much fun
走神 (zǒushén): adj absent-minded
慈祥 (cíxiáng): adv kindly
叹息 (tànxī): v to sigh
大 (dà): adj great