十年樹木，百年樹人 shí nián shù mù ， bǎi nián shù rén

education takes time; training people is hard

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. It takes ten years to nurture a tree, but a hundred years to train a man (idiom). A good education program takes a long time to develop.

Characters

Character Meaning
十 shí HSK 1
ten; 10
年 nián HSK 1
year; grain; harvest (old)
樹 shù
tree; to set up; to cultivate
木 mù HSK 5
tree; wood; wooden
百 bǎi HSK 2
hundred; numerous; all kinds of
年 nián HSK 1
year; grain; harvest (old)
樹 shù
tree; to set up; to cultivate
人 rén HSK 1
person; people; man