冰冻三尺,非一日之寒 bīng dòng sān chǐ , fēi yī rì zhī hán

DEFINITIONS

  1. three feet of ice does not form in a single day (idiom); Rome wasn't built in a day

CHARACTERS

冰 bīng ice; ice-cold
冻 dòng freeze; cold, congeal; jelly
三 sān three
尺 chǐ Chinese measure approx. 'foot'
非 fēi not, negative, non-; oppose
一 yī one; a, an; alone
日 rì sun; day; daytime
之 zhī marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
寒 hán cold, wintry, chilly