Practice
Makes Perfect
| Characters: |
 |
Pronunciation:
shu(2) neng(2) sheng(1) qiao(3)
Explanation:
Skill comes from practice.
Tone:
Positive
The
Story: A man named Chen Yazi was good
at shooting. One day he was shooting at the
shooting range. Many people around applauded
his skill, but an old man just nodded. It
seemed like he did not think that was a surprise
or talent at all.
Chen
Yazi thought the old man despised him, so
he walked to the old man and asked: "Can
you shoot?"
"No,"
the old man said, "but from my point
of view, although you shoot well, that's nothing
special. It's just because you practice more."
Chen Yazi was angry, he said: "How can
you make a comment on me like this--you even
know nothing about shooting!"
The
old man said, "I am an oil-vendor. I
have some skill on pouring oil. Now I will
show you."
The
old man put a calabash on the ground and placed
a copper coin on the opening. The old man
poured the whole scoop of oil through the
center hole of the coin into the calabash.
He finished it without one drop on the edge
of the coin's center hole. Then the old man
said: "You see, I have no special talent.
It's just because I am familiar with it and
practice it a lot that I am so good!"
After
that, Chen Yazi never again was cocky about
his shooting skill.
Usage
Example (Pinyin): Ren(2) ren(2) dou(1)
zhi(1) dao(4) shu(2) neng(2) sheng(1) qiao(3).
Usage
Example (English translation): Everyone
knows practice makes perfect.
Note:
The spoken Chinese Mandarin language has 4
spoken tones. We have attempted to re-create
those above where after each syllable we tell
you (1), (2), (3), or (4) as they correspond
to each of the 4 tones. We encourage you to
complement your Xianzai.com Chinese Idioms
newsletter with a good offline study program.
