養兵千日，用兵一時 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

養 yǎng raise, rear, bring up; support
兵 bīng
HSK 5
soldier, troops
千 qiān
HSK 2
thousand; many, numerous; very; (Cant.) a cheater, swindler
日 rì
HSK 2
sun; day; daytime
用 yòng
HSK 3
use, employ, apply, operate; use
兵 bīng
HSK 5
soldier, troops
一 yī
HSK 1
one; a, an; alone
時 shí time, season; era, age, period