Effort & Endurance
自强不息
자강불식
zì qiáng bù xī
Ja-gang-bul-sik
自
스스로 자
强
강할 강
不
아닐 불
息
쉴 식
Character by character
Meaning
Strengthen yourself and never rest.
Origin
From the Book of Changes: heaven moves with vigour, so the noble person strengthens himself without cease.
How it is used
Applied to someone who keeps at it even when nobody is watching.
Hanja自强不息
Simplified自强不息
Korean reading자강불식
Pinyinzì qiáng bù xī
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does Ja-gang-bul-sik mean?
自强不息 · Strengthen yourself and never rest.
Q. Where does Ja-gang-bul-sik come from?
From the Book of Changes: heaven moves with vigour, so the noble person strengthens himself without cease.
Q. How is Ja-gang-bul-sik used?
Applied to someone who keeps at it even when nobody is watching.
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.