冰冻三尺，非一日之寒

Mandarin

simplified	冰冻三尺，非一日之寒
traditional	冰凍三尺，非一日之寒

Etymology

Literally: Three feet of ice is not the result of one cold day.

Proverb

冰冻三尺，非一日之寒 (simplified, Pinyin bīng dòng sān chǐ, fēi yī rì zhī hán, traditional 冰凍三尺，非一日之寒)

1. Rome wasn't built in a day.
2. One can not become an expert in a difficult subject overnight.
   • 2004: Feng Wuyu (风无语), games.sina.com.cn (description of a video game called "Celestial Companion Fantasy")

     天啊，如此美景，确是一令人望而却步的是非之地。乖乖的回到出生地，打开地图，寻找练功场所。涉足江湖，没有点一技之长，死于非命怨得了谁呢？拼命地打怪，升级，可是，好漫长埃哎，冰冻三尺，非一日之寒。十年磨剑只为一朝成名。

     Wow, such beautiful scenery; in fact, it was a land of bandits and thieves that could cause a man to shrink back at the sight. Obediently, I returned to the place of my birth, opened a map, and looked for a place where I could learn how to fight. But once you set foot in the world of itinerant bandit warriors, if you have no kung fu fighting proficiency to begin with, who else can you blame but yourself if you get killed? I went to great lengths at the risk of life and limb, rising through the ranks; but, it seemed like it was taking forever. Alas, one cannot become an expert overnight. I cultivated my skills with the sword for ten years, all to make a name for myself someday.

External links

• Google hits .cn
• Google hits: .tw