三天打魚,兩天曬網 sān tiān dǎ yú , liǎng tiān shài wǎng

to do sth by fits and starts

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. to do sth by fits and starts
  2. 2. fig. not to persevere in doing sth
  3. 3. lit. to fish for three days and sun-dry the nets for two days (proverb)

Characters

Character Meaning
three; 3; surname San
day; sky; heaven
to hit; to strike; to beat
fish; surname Yu
two; both; some
day; sky; heaven
to dry (clothes, grain etc) in the sun
net; network