行百里者半九十

xíng bǎi lǐ zhě bàn jiǔ shí

Dictionary entry

lit. ninety li is merely a half of a hundred li journey (idiom)

What does 行百里者半九十 mean?

行百里者半九十 (xíng bǎi lǐ zhě bàn jiǔ shí) has the following dictionary meaning.

1lit. ninety li is merely a half of a hundred li journey (idiom)

2fig. the closer one is to completing a task, the tougher it gets

3a task is not done until it's done

Character breakdown

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行xíngokay · all right 百Bǎisurname Bai 里lǐvariant of 裡|里[li3]者zhě(after a verb or adjective) one who (is) ... · (after a noun) person involved in ...半bànhalf · semi-九jiǔnine · 9 十shíten · 10

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How to pronounce 行百里者半九十

行百里者半九十

xíng bǎi lǐ zhě bàn jiǔ shí

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