百步穿楊
Chinese
hundred | a step; a pace; walk a step; a pace; walk; march; stages in a process | to bore through; pierce; perforate to bore through; pierce; perforate; penetrate; pass through; to dress; to wear; to put on; to thread | surname; poplar | ||
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trad. (百步穿楊) | 百 | 步 | 穿 | 楊 | |
simp. (百步穿杨) | 百 | 步 | 穿 | 杨 | |
Literally: “to shoot an arrow through a willow leaf at a hundred paces; to split a willow wand at a hundred paces”. |
Etymology
Derived from the story of the archer 養由基 (Yang Youji) as presented in Zhan Guo Ce.
Pronunciation
Idiom
百步穿楊
- (figuratively, of archery, gun shooting, basketball, etc.) to shoot with great precision