工 欲 善 其 事，必 先 利 其 器

gōng yù shàn qí shì , bì xiān lì qí qìdictionary entry

To do a good job, an artisan needs the best tools (idiom). Good tools are prerequisite to the successful execution of a job

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-ea55d92d0d2069be. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

工欲善其事，必先利其器 工欲善其事，必先利其器 [gong1 yu4 shan4 qi2 shi4 , bi4 xian1 li4 qi2 qi4] /To do a good job, an artisan needs the best tools (idiom). Good tools are prerequisite to the successful execution of a job/

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Reference information

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

Character information

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工欲善其事必先利其器

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.