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chí 持 zhī 之 yǐ 以 héng 恒

持之以恒 chí zhī yǐ héng

to persevere; to keep at something steadily

Literally: hold it with constancy

Intermediate 📚 Study & effort
🃏 Practise intermediate chengyu

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Origin

Descriptive; no single source story. Qing scholar Zeng Guofan's family letters urge students to 持之以恒, which helped popularise the phrase.

How to use it

Predicate or adverbial; positive. Often 只要持之以恒,就……

Example sentences

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  1. 锻炼身体要持之以恒，不能三天打鱼两天晒网。
    Duànliàn shēntǐ yào chí zhī yǐ héng, bù néng sān tiān dǎ yú liǎng tiān shài wǎng.
    Exercise takes perseverance; you can't fish for three days and dry the nets for two.
    exercise body must hold it with constancy, not can three day catch fish two day dry net
  2. 只要持之以恒地练习，你的发音一定会进步。
    Zhǐyào chí zhī yǐ héng de liànxí, nǐ de fāyīn yīdìng huì jìnbù.
    As long as you practise steadily, your pronunciation will definitely improve.
    as-long-as hold it with constancy (particle) practise, you (particle) pronunciation certainly will improve

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