qiè锲chiselér而andbù不notshě舍give up
Keep chiseling without giving up — persist through the slow grind.
Literal meaning
chisel (锲) — and (而) — not (不) — give up (舍)
Origin
Xunzi (《荀子·劝学》): 锲而舍之，朽木不折；锲而不舍，金石可镂 — "Chisel for a while and quit, and even rotten wood won't break; chisel without quitting, and metal and stone can be carved." The Confucian philosopher Xun Kuang's framing is deliberately physical: the difference between achievement and futility isn't talent, it's whether you keep at the same patch of resistance long enough to actually move it.
Examples
Tā他qiè锲ér而bù不shě舍de地yán研jiū究zhè这ge个wèn问tí题shí十nián年le了。
He's been doggedly working on this problem for ten years.
Xué学yǔ语yán言yào要qiè锲ér而bù不shě舍。
Learning a language takes persistent grinding.
Usage & nuances
Praising tone. Works adverbially (锲而不舍地…) or as a stand-alone compliment about someone's discipline. Common in academic and motivational writing; comfortable in spoken Chinese too.
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