百步穿楊

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Chinese

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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
trad. (百步穿楊) 穿
simp. (百步穿杨) 穿
Literally: “to shoot an arrow through a willow leaf at a hundred paces; to split a willow wand at a hundred paces”.

Etymology

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Derived from the story of the archer 養由基 (Yang Youji) as presented in Zhan Guo Ce.

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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百步穿楊

  1. (figurative, of archery, gun shooting, basketball, etc.) to shoot with great precision