Ju-gyeong-ya-dok

晝

낮 주

耕

밭갈 경

夜

밤 야

讀

읽을 독

Character by character

Meaning

Plough by day and read by night — studying on despite hardship.

Origin

Similar phrasing appears in the Book of Wei; in Korea it settled into meaning working while studying.

How it is used

Said of someone holding a job while continuing their education.

Hanja晝耕夜讀

Simplified昼耕夜读

Korean reading주경야독

Pinyinzhòu gēng yè dú

Frequently asked questions

Q. What does Ju-gyeong-ya-dok mean?

晝耕夜讀 · Plough by day and read by night — studying on despite hardship.

Q. Where does Ju-gyeong-ya-dok come from?

Similar phrasing appears in the Book of Wei; in Korea it settled into meaning working while studying.

Q. How is Ju-gyeong-ya-dok used?

Said of someone holding a job while continuing their education.

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.