Effort & Endurance
走馬加鞭
주마가편
zǒu mǎ jiā biān
Ju-ma-ga-pyeon
走
달릴 주
馬
말 마
加
더할 가
鞭
채찍 편
Character by character
Meaning
Whip the horse that is already running — push the one already doing well.
Origin
A classical phrase for adding momentum to something already going strongly.
How it is used
Said to urge one more effort from someone performing well; overdone, it becomes pressure.
Hanja走馬加鞭
Simplified走马加鞭
Korean reading주마가편
Pinyinzǒu mǎ jiā biān
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does Ju-ma-ga-pyeon mean?
走馬加鞭 · Whip the horse that is already running — push the one already doing well.
Q. Where does Ju-ma-ga-pyeon come from?
A classical phrase for adding momentum to something already going strongly.
Q. How is Ju-ma-ga-pyeon used?
Said to urge one more effort from someone performing well; overdone, it becomes pressure.
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.