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
HSK 3
ice; ice-cold
冻 dòng
HSK 5
freeze; cold, congeal; jelly
三 sān
HSK 1
three
尺 chǐ
HSK 5
Chinese measure approx. 'foot'
非 fēi
HSK 2
not, negative, non-; oppose
一 yī
HSK 1
one; a, an; alone
日 rì
HSK 2
sun; day; daytime
之 zhī
HSK 4
marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
寒 hán
HSK 4
cold, wintry, chilly