Il-chwi-wol-jang

日

날 일

就

나아갈 취

月

달 월

將

장차 장

Character by character

Meaning

Advancing by the day and growing by the month — improving fast.

Origin

From the Book of Odes, in the Zhou hymns.

How it is used

Used when a beginner’s skill is visibly improving.

Hanja日就月將

Simplified日就月将

Korean reading일취월장

Pinyinrì jiù yuè jiāng

Frequently asked questions

Q. What does Il-chwi-wol-jang mean?

日就月將 · Advancing by the day and growing by the month — improving fast.

Q. Where does Il-chwi-wol-jang come from?

From the Book of Odes, in the Zhou hymns.

Q. How is Il-chwi-wol-jang used?

Used when a beginner’s skill is visibly improving.

Idioms in the same group

愚公移山 U-gong-i-sanOld Man Yu moves the mountain — persistence accomplishes anything.磨斧作針 Ma-bu-jak-chimGrind an axe into a needle — dogged effort achieves even the impossible.螢雪之功 Hyeong-seol-ji-gongMerit earned reading by fireflies and snow-light — study achieved in hardship.切齒腐心 Jeol-chi-bu-simGrinding your teeth and letting your heart rot — nursing a grievance.臥薪嘗膽 Wa-sin-sang-damSleep on firewood and taste gall — endure any hardship to settle a score.百折不屈 Baek-jeol-bul-gulBroken a hundred times and still unbent.

The idioms used in Korea mix phrases from the Chinese classics with ones coined in Korea. Where an expression is not used in China, the entry says so.