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养兵千日，用兵一时

yǎng bīng qiān rì , yòng bīng yī shídictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. Train an army for a thousand days to use it for an hour. (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-ec68794e66b9432a. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

養兵千日，用兵一時 养兵千日，用兵一时 [yang3 bing1 qian1 ri4 , yong4 bing1 yi1 shi2] /lit. Train an army for a thousand days to use it for an hour. (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，用兵一時

  • 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

  • 兵
    bīng

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

  • 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

  • 时
    shí

    (bound form) time / hour / period / season / (after a numeral) o'clock / hour(s) / (after a verb phrase or clause) when / while

    Shí

    surname Shi

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.