Dictionary › 磨刀不误砍柴工

磨刀不误砍柴工

mó dāo bù wù kǎn chái gōng

7-character word Traditional 磨刀不誤砍柴工

What 磨刀不误砍柴工 means

1. lit. sharpening the axe won't make the wood-splitting take longer (idiom)
2. fig. time invested in preparations is not lost
3. a beard well lathered is half shaved

The characters in 磨刀不误砍柴工

• 磨móto rub; to grind; to polish
• 刀dāoknife; blade; single-edged sword; cutlass; (slang; loanword) dollar…
• 不bùno; not so; (bound form) not; un-
• 误wùmistake; error; to miss
• 砍kǎnto chop; to cut down; to throw sth at sb
• 柴cháifirewood; lean (of meat); thin (of a person)
• 工gōngwork; worker; skill

Go deeper

• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read mó dāo bù wù kǎn chái gōng correctly.
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