他山之石可以攻玉
tā shān zhī shí kě yǐ gōng yù
Pinyin

Definition

他山之石可以攻玉
 - 
tā shān zhī shí kě yǐ gōng yù
  1. lit. the other mountain's stone can polish jade (idiom); to improve oneself by accepting criticism from outside
  2. to borrow talent from abroad to develop the nation effectively

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

以
yǐ
  1. 1 old variant of 以[yǐ]
之
zhī
  1. 1 (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de])
  2. 2 him
  3. 3 her
  4. 4 it
之前
zhī qián
  1. 1 before
  2. 2 prior to
  3. 3 ago
  4. 4 previously
  5. 5 beforehand
之后
zhī hòu
  1. 1 afterwards
  2. 2 following
  3. 3 later
  4. 4 after
他
tā
  1. 1 he or him
  2. 2 (used for either sex when the sex is unknown or unimportant)
  3. 3 (used before sb's name for emphasis)
  4. 4 (used as a meaningless mock object)
  5. 5 other
  6. 6 another
他们
tā men
  1. 1 they
以前
yǐ qián
  1. 1 before
  2. 2 formerly
  3. 3 previous
  4. 4 ago
以后
yǐ hòu
  1. 1 after
  2. 2 later
  3. 3 afterwards
  4. 4 following
  5. 5 later on
  6. 6 in the future
以为
yǐ wéi
  1. 1 to think (i.e. to take it to be true that ...) (Usually there is an implication that the notion is mistaken – except when expressing one's own current opinion.)
可
kě
  1. 1 can
  2. 2 may
  3. 3 able to
  4. 4 to approve
  5. 5 to permit
  6. 6 to suit
  7. 7 (particle used for emphasis) certainly
  8. 8 very
可以
kě yǐ
  1. 1 can
  2. 2 may
  3. 3 possible
  4. 4 able to
  5. 5 not bad
  6. 6 pretty good
可惜
kě xī
  1. 1 it is a pity
  2. 2 what a pity
  3. 3 unfortunately
可爱
kě ài
  1. 1 adorable
  2. 2 cute
  3. 3 lovely
可是
kě shì
  1. 1 but
  2. 2 however
  3. 3 (used for emphasis) indeed
可能
kě néng
  1. 1 might (happen)
  2. 2 possible
  3. 3 probable
  4. 4 possibility
  5. 5 probability
  6. 6 maybe
  7. 7 perhaps
  8. 8 CL:個|个[gè]
山
Shān
  1. 1 surname Shan
所以
suǒ yǐ
  1. 1 therefore
  2. 2 as a result
  3. 3 so
  4. 4 the reason why
一石二鸟
yī shí èr niǎo
  1. 1 to kill two birds with one stone (idiom)
三分之一
sān fēn zhī yī
  1. 1 one third
上山
shàng shān
  1. 1 to go uphill
  2. 2 to spin cocoon (silkworms)
  3. 3 to pass away

Idioms (20)

一丘之貉
yī qiū zhī hé
  1. 1 jackals of the same tribe (idiom); fig. They are all just as bad as each other.
一之为甚
yī zhī wéi shèn
  1. 1 once is more than enough (idiom)
一则以喜，一则以忧
yī zé yǐ xǐ , yī zé yǐ yōu
  1. 1 happy on the one hand, but worried on the other (idiom)
一山不容二虎
yī shān bù róng èr hǔ
  1. 1 lit. the mountain can't have two tigers (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. this town ain't big enough for the two of us
  3. 3 (of two rivals) to be fiercely competitive
一年之计在于春
yī nián zhī jì zài yú chūn
  1. 1 the whole year must be planned for in the spring (idiom)
  2. 2 early planning is the key to success
一技之长
yī jì zhī cháng
  1. 1 proficiency in a particular field (idiom)
  2. 2 skill in a specialized area (idiom)
一掬同情之泪
yī jū tóng qíng zhī lèi
  1. 1 to shed tears of sympathy (idiom)
一日之计在于晨
yī rì zhī jì zài yú chén
  1. 1 make your day's plan early in the morning (idiom)
  2. 2 early morning is the golden time of the day
一日之雅
yī rì zhī yǎ
  1. 1 lit. friends for a day (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. casual acquaintance
一石二鸟
yī shí èr niǎo
  1. 1 to kill two birds with one stone (idiom)
一箭之仇
yī jiàn zhī chóu
  1. 1 a wrong suffered (idiom)
  2. 2 old grievance
  3. 3 previous defeat
一言以蔽之
yī yán yǐ bì zhī
  1. 1 one word says it all (idiom, from Analects); to cut a long story short
  2. 2 in a nutshell
一蹴可几
yī cù kě jǐ
  1. 1 to succeed at the first try (idiom)
  2. 2 easy as pie
  3. 3 one can do it at once
不以人废言
bù yǐ rén fèi yán
  1. 1 not to reject a word because of the speaker (idiom, from Analects); to judge on the merits of the case rather than preference between advisers
不以为然
bù yǐ wéi rán
  1. 1 not to accept as correct (idiom); to object
  2. 2 to disapprove
  3. 3 to take exception to
不以规矩，不能成方圆
bù yǐ guī ju , bù néng chéng fāng yuán
  1. 1 without rules, nothing can be done (idiom, from Mencius); one must follow some rules
不以词害志
bù yǐ cí hài zhì
  1. 1 don't let rhetoric spoil the message (idiom); don't get carried away with flowery speech to the detriment of what you want to say
不以辞害志
bù yǐ cí hài zhì
  1. 1 don't let rhetoric spoil the message (idiom); don't get carried away with flowery speech to the detriment of what you want to say
不可胜言
bù kě shèng yán
  1. 1 inexpressible (idiom)
  2. 2 beyond description
不可同日而语
bù kě tóng rì ér yǔ
  1. 1 lit. mustn't speak of two things on the same day (idiom); not to be mentioned in the same breath
  2. 2 incomparable

Sample Sentences