jiān坚firmchí持holdbú不notxiè懈slack
Persevere without slackening — keep at it without letting up.
Literal meaning
firm (坚) — hold (持) — not (不) — slack (懈)
Origin
A modern four-character compression built from Confucian moral-cultivation vocabulary (坚持 \"persist\" + 不懈 \"without slacking\"). The phrase has been a stock expression in Chinese-language education and motivational writing since the 20th century — a more contemporary cousin of 持之以恒.
Examples
Tā他jiān坚chí持bú不xiè懈de地xùn训liàn练，zhōng终yú于yíng赢dé得le了bǐ比sài赛。
He trained without slackening, and finally won the competition.
Xué学xí习xū需yào要jiān坚chí持bú不xiè懈。
Studying requires sustained effort.
Usage & nuances
Widely used in everyday speech and writing. Slightly more formal than "keep at it" but lighter than 自强不息. Common in school reports, encouragement, and self-talk.
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