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大器晚成

dà qì wǎn chéng

4-character word

What 大器晚成 means

1. lit. it takes a long time to make a big pot (idiom); fig. a great talent matures slowly
2. in the fullness of time a major figure will develop into a pillar of the state
3. Rome wasn't built in a day

The characters in 大器晚成

• 大dàbig; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐
• 器qìdevice; tool; utensil
• 晚wǎnevening; night; late
• 成chéngto succeed; to finish; to complete

Example sentences

• 他大器晚成。
  Tā dàqìwǎnchéng.
  He's a late bloomer.

Go deeper

• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read dà qì wǎn chéng correctly.
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