ProverbPerseverance
Japanese origin
Japanese origin雨垂れ石を穿つ (Ame-dare ishi o ugatsu)
Meaning: Small, persistent efforts achieve great things.
Literally: Raindrops pierce the stone
Example: “毎日少しずつ練習すれば上達する。雨垂れ石を穿つだ。” — Practice a little every day and you'll improve: dripping water hollows out stone.
Equivalents in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, and 6 more languages
English: Dripping water hollows out stone
French: Goutte à goutte, l'eau creuse la pierre (literally: Drop by drop, water hollows the stone)
Spanish: La gota de agua horada la piedra (literally: The drop of water bores through stone)
German: Steter Tropfen höhlt den Stein (literally: A constant drop hollows the stone)
Italian: La goccia scava la pietra (literally: The drop hollows the stone)
Portuguese: Água mole em pedra dura, tanto bate até que fura (literally: Soft water on hard stone keeps hitting until it bores through)
Russian: Капля камень точит (Kaplya kamen' tochit) (literally: A drop wears away stone)
Polish: Kropla drąży skałę (literally: A drop bores through rock)
Chinese: 水滴石穿 (Shuǐ dī shí chuān) (literally: Dripping water pierces stone)
Korean: 낙숫물이 댓돌을 뚫는다 (Naksunmuri daetdoreul ttulleunda) (literally: Eaves-water bores through the stone step)
Turkish: Damlaya damlaya göl olur (literally: Drop by drop, a lake forms)
Origin: From the Book of Han, where the adviser Mei Sheng warns the emperor that dripping water bores through the stone of Mount Tai. There it warned that small troubles add up to great ones; today it praises steady effort.
Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words
Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.
- Natsukashii A warm, nostalgic rush triggered by something from the past — a smell, a song, a sight. N…
- Yugen A profound, mysterious sense of the universe that is too deep for words — the feeling of…
- Koi no yokan The intuitive feeling upon first meeting someone that you will inevitably fall in love wi…
Keep exploring