养兵千日,用兵一时 yǎng bīng qiān rì , yòng bīng yī shí

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. Train an army for a thousand days to use it for an hour. (idiom); fig. extensive preparation eventually pays off

CHARACTERS

养 yǎng raise, rear, bring up; support
兵 bīng soldier, troops
千 qiān thousand; many, numerous; very; (Cant.) a cheater, swindler
日 rì sun; day; daytime
用 yòng use, employ, apply, operate; use
兵 bīng soldier, troops
一 yī one; a, an; alone
时 shí time, season; era, age, period