The New Dictionary.
Search dictionary
Chinese/Dictionary entry

大器晚成

dà qì wǎn chéngdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. it takes a long time to make a big pot (idiom); fig. a great talent matures slowly / in the fullness of time a major figure will develop into a pillar of the state / Rome wasn't built in a day
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-6b1aae1326ade23f. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

大器晚成 大器晚成 [da4 qi4 wan3 cheng2] /lit. it takes a long time to make a big pot (idiom); fig. a great talent matures slowly/in the fullness of time a major figure will develop into a pillar of the state/Rome wasn't built in a day/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

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

Character information

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

  • 大
    dà

    big; large; great / older (than another person) / eldest (as in 大姐[dà jiě]) / greatly; freely; fully / (dialect) father / (dialect) uncle (father's brother)

    dài

    see 大夫[dài fu]

  • 器
    qì

    device / tool / utensil / CL:臺|台[tái]

  • 晚
    wǎn

    evening / night / late

  • 成
    chéng

    to succeed / to finish / to complete / to accomplish / to become / to turn into / to be all right / OK! / one tenth

    Chéng

    surname Cheng / short name for Chengdu 成都[Chéng dū]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.