养兵千日，用兵一时 in English yang3 bing1 qian1 ri4 , yong4 bing1 yi1 shi2 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) Train an army for a thousand days to use it for an hour. (idiomatic expression); metaphorically extensive preparation eventually pays off

Simplified Characters

养 兵 千 日 ， 用 兵 一 时

Traditional Characters

養 兵 千 日 ， 用 兵 一 時

Pinyin

yang3 bing1 qian1 ri4 , yong4 bing1 yi1 shi2

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

养yang3to raise (animals) 兵bing1soldiers 千qian1thousand 日ri4abbr. for 日本[Ri4 ben3], Japan ， 用yong4to use 兵bing1soldiers 一yi1one 时shi2old variant of 時|时[shi2]