养兵千日，用兵一时

Traditional: 養兵千日，用兵一時

yǎng bīng qiān rì , yòng bīng yī shí

Dictionary entry

lit. Train an army for a thousand days to use it for an hour. (idiom); fig. extensive preparation eventually pays off

What does 养兵千日，用兵一时 mean?

养兵千日，用兵一时 (yǎng bīng qiān rì , yòng bīng yī shí) has the following dictionary meaning.

1lit. Train an army for a thousand days to use it for an hour. (idiom); fig. extensive preparation eventually pays off

Character breakdown

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养yǎngto raise (animals) · to bring up (children)兵bīngsoldiers · a force 千qiānthousand 日rì(bound form) sun · day 用yòngto use; to make use of; to employ · (coverb) with; using 一yīone · single 时shíold variant of 時|时[shi2]

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How to pronounce 养兵千日，用兵一时

养兵千日，用兵一时

yǎng bīng qiān rì , yòng bīng yī shí

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Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.