ProverbPerseveranceLatin origin

Dripping water hollows out stone

Meaning: Persistent small efforts accomplish what force alone cannot.

Origin: The Roman poet Ovid wrote gutta cavat lapidem — the drop hollows the stone — and Lucretius used the same image. Water too soft to seem a threat wears through rock by persistence alone, and so does any steady effort.

Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, and 6 more languages

  • 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)
  • Japanese: 点滴石をも穿つ (Tenteki ishi wo mo ugatsu) (literally: Dripping water pierces even 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)

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