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养兵千日，用在一朝

yǎng bīng qiān rì , yòng zài yī zhāodictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. train an army for a thousand days to use it for one morning (idiom) / fig. extensive preparation eventually pays off
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-7c515931dd62d625. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

養兵千日，用在一朝 养兵千日，用在一朝 [yang3 bing1 qian1 ri4 , yong4 zai4 yi1 zhao1] /lit. train an army for a thousand days to use it for one morning (idiom)/fig. extensive preparation eventually pays off/

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.

Other forms in these source records: 養兵千日，用在一朝

  • 养
    yǎng

    to raise (animals) / to bring up (children) / to keep (pets) / to support / to give birth

  • 兵
    bīng

    soldiers / a force / an army / weapons / arms / military / warlike / CL:個|个[gè]

  • 千
    qiān

    thousand / used in 鞦韆|秋千[qiū qiān]

  • 日
    rì

    (bound form) sun / day / day of the month / (bound form) Japan (abbr. for 日本[Rì běn]) / (vulgar) to fuck / to have sex with

  • 用
    yòng

    to use / to make use of / to employ / (coverb) with / using / to need / to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions) / usefulness / utility / (bound form) expense / outlay / (courteous) to eat / to drink / (literary) hence / therefore

  • 在
    zài

    to exist / to be alive / (of sb or sth) to be (located) at / (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)

  • 一
    yī

    one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire / whole / all / throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yāo] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit

  • 朝
    cháo

    imperial or royal court / government / dynasty / reign of a sovereign or emperor / court or assembly held by a sovereign or emperor / to make a pilgrimage to / facing / towards

    zhāo

    morning

    Cháo

    abbr. for 朝鮮|朝鲜[Cháo xiǎn] Korea

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.