# 锲而不舍

qiè ér bù shě

Persevere without giving up

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Keep carving without stopping

**Traditional Chinese:** 鍥而不捨

**Register:** Admiring · formal

[Effort & growth](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/effort)

## When to use it

Use for determined work on a difficult goal.

It is more emphatic than simply saying someone is diligent.

## Behind the words

Xunzi uses carving to contrast stopping with persistent effort. Continued work can make an impression even in hard material.

锲 concerns cutting or carving, and 不舍 means not giving up. The carving image makes repeated effort against resistance central to the expression. It often praises persistence when obstacles or failed attempts would discourage someone. Compare 持之以恒, which stresses constancy over time; 锲而不舍 often makes the difficulty being worked through more prominent.

## Examples

研究需要锲而不舍，失败也不能轻易放弃。

### Traditional Chinese

研究需要鍥而不捨，失敗也不能輕易放棄。

yán jiū xū yào qiè ér bù shě ， shī bài yě bù néng qīng yì fàng qì 。

Research takes perseverance; failure should not make us give up easily.

研究一次次失败，他仍锲而不舍地寻找原因。

### Traditional Chinese

研究一次次失敗，他仍鍥而不捨地尋找原因。

yán jiū yí cì cì shī bài ， tā réng qiè ér bù shě dì xún zhǎo yuán yīn 。

Despite repeated failed experiments, he kept searching for the cause.

她锲而不舍地修改文章，直到论证清楚。

### Traditional Chinese

她鍥而不捨地修改文章，直到論證清楚。

tā qiè ér bù shě dì xiū gǎi wén zhāng ， zhí dào lùn zhèng qīng chǔ 。

She kept revising the article until its reasoning was clear.

面对复杂的线索，调查人员锲而不舍。

### Traditional Chinese

面對複雜的線索，調查人員鍥而不捨。

miàn duì fù zá de xiàn suǒ ， diào chá rén yuán qiè ér bù shě 。

The investigators persisted through the complicated clues.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 4, 2026.

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=9162&q=1&webMd=1&la=0)

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E9%8D%A5%E8%80%8C%E4%B8%8D%E6%8D%A8)

## Keep exploring

- [轻而易举 qīng ér yì jǔ Achieve something with little difficulty ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/qing-er-yi-ju)

- [全力以赴 quán lì yǐ fù Put all your effort into it ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/quan-li-yi-fu)

- [人定胜天 rén dìng shèng tiān Human determination can overcome natural obstacles ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/ren-ding-sheng-tian)

- [任劳任怨 rèn láo rèn yuàn Work hard without complaining ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/ren-lao-ren-yuan)

## Keep this one close.

Save useful idioms, read offline, and revisit them with flashcards in Almanac.

[View on the App Store ](https://apps.apple.com/app/id6819590452)

[Previous idiom 切磋琢磨 ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/qie-cuo-zhuo-mo) [Next idiom 情不自禁 ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/qing-bu-zi-jin)