一曝十寒 yī pù shí hán Expose to the sun for one day, freeze for ten days

Explanation

比喻学习或工作时，学习一时勤奋，一时又懒散，没有恒心。

A metaphor for learning or working, being diligent for a while, then lazy again, without perseverance.

Origin Story

战国时期，齐宣王昏庸无能，常被朝中的奸人利用。孟子游历到齐国时，对齐宣王也无能为力。他认为齐宣王并不是不聪明，而是没有受到好的方面的熏陶，他说：“虽有天下易生之物也，一日暴之，十日寒之，未有能生者也。”意思是说，即使是最容易生长的植物，如果只是一天晒太阳，十天就让它受冻，也不可能生长。这就好比学习，如果只是偶尔发奋一下，三天打鱼两天晒网，就很难取得真正的进步。

zhàn guó shí qī, qí xuān wáng hūn yōng wú néng, cháng bèi cháo zhōng de jiān rén lì yòng. mèng zǐ yóu lì dào qí guó shí, duì qí xuān wáng yě wú néng wéi lì. tā rèn wéi qí xuān wáng bìng bù shì bù cōng míng, ér shì méi yǒu shòu dào hǎo de fāng miàn de xūn táo, tā shuō：“suī yǒu tiān xià yì shēng zhī wù yě, yī rì bào zhī, shí rì hán zhī, wèi yǒu néng shēng zhě yě.” yì sī shì shuō, jí shǐ shì zuì róng yì shēng zhǎng de zhí wù, rú guǒ zhǐ shì ǒu ěr fā fèn yī xià, sān tiān dǎ yú liǎng tiān shài wǎng, jiù hěn nán qǔ dé zhēn zhèng de jìn zhǎn.

During the Warring States period, King Xuan of Qi was an incompetent and easily manipulated ruler. Mengzi, a famous philosopher, traveled through Qi and was baffled by Xuanwang's inability. He believed that Xuanwang was not stupid, but simply had not been exposed to enough good influences. He said: “Even the easiest plants in the world, if they get one day of sun and ten days of frost, will not grow.” This means that even if you make a short-term effort, but then become negligent and repeat this cycle, it will be difficult to make real progress.

Usage

这个成语用来形容学习或工作没有恒心，时而勤奋，时而懒散，比喻学习或工作没有持之以恒的态度。

zhè ge chéng yǔ yòng lái xíng róng xué xí huò gōng zuò méi yǒu héng xīn, shí ér qín fèn, shí ér lǎn sàn, bǐ yù xué xí huò gōng zuò méi yǒu chí zhī yǐ héng de tài dù.

This idiom is used to describe someone who lacks perseverance in learning or work, alternating between diligence and laziness, lacking a consistent work ethic.

Examples

• 他学习英语一曝十寒，所以进步很慢。

  tā xué xí yīng yǔ yī pù shí hán, suǒ yǐ jìn zhǎn hěn màn.

  He learns English sporadically, so his progress is very slow.

• 做事情不能一曝十寒，要坚持不懈。

  zuò shì qíng bù néng yī pù shí hán, yào jiān chí bù xiè.

  You can't do things half-heartedly, you have to persevere.

• 小明学习英语一曝十寒，成绩一直没有起色。

  xiǎo míng xué xí yīng yǔ yī pù shí hán, chéng jī yī zhí méi yǒu qǐ sè.

  Little Ming learns English sporadically, and his grades have not improved.

Related Idioms

• 三心二意

• 有始无终

Opposite Idioms

• 持之以恒

• 坚持不懈