shí nián shù mù , bǎi nián shù réndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(idiom) it takes ten years to grow trees, but a hundred years to cultivate people
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-01e9ac435ee5c00a. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

十年樹木,百年樹人 十年树木,百年树人 [shi2 nian2 shu4 mu4 , bai3 nian2 shu4 ren2] /(idiom) it takes ten years to grow trees, but a hundred years to cultivate people/

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Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

Other forms in these source records: 十年樹木,百年樹人

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

十年树木百年树人
Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.