Effort & Endurance
有志竟成
유지경성
yǒu zhì jìng chéng
Yu-ji-gyeong-seong
有
있을 유
志
뜻 지
竟
마침내 경
成
이룰 성
Character by character
Meaning
Where there is will, it is accomplished in the end.
Origin
From the Book of the Later Han, in Emperor Guangwu’s praise of the general Geng Yan.
How it is used
Encouragement for a goal someone has held onto for a long time.
Hanja有志竟成
Simplified有志竟成
Korean reading유지경성
Pinyinyǒu zhì jìng chéng
Frequently asked questions
Q. What does Yu-ji-gyeong-seong mean?
有志竟成 · Where there is will, it is accomplished in the end.
Q. Where does Yu-ji-gyeong-seong come from?
From the Book of the Later Han, in Emperor Guangwu’s praise of the general Geng Yan.
Q. How is Yu-ji-gyeong-seong used?
Encouragement for a goal someone has held onto for a long time.
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.