磨刀不误砍柴工

Traditional: 磨刀不誤砍柴工

mó dāo bù wù kǎn chái gōng

Dictionary entry

lit. sharpening the axe won't make the wood-splitting take longer (idiom)

What does 磨刀不误砍柴工 mean?

磨刀不误砍柴工 (mó dāo bù wù kǎn chái gōng) has the following dictionary meaning.

1lit. sharpening the axe won't make the wood-splitting take longer (idiom)

2fig. time invested in preparations is not lost

3a beard well lathered is half shaved

Character breakdown

Open each character to see its own meanings and vocabulary links.

磨móto rub · to grind 刀Dāosurname Dao 不bùno; not so · (bound form) not; un-误wùmistake · error 砍kǎnto chop · to cut down 柴Cháisurname Chai 工gōngwork · worker

Reviewed examples

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How to pronounce 磨刀不误砍柴工

磨刀不误砍柴工

mó dāo bù wù kǎn chái gōng

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