學而優則仕

学而优则仕
xuééryōuzéshì
one who is successful in one's studies, can become an official (idiom)

CEDICT

Entry Composition

1 學 xué
  1. to learn
  2. to study
  3. to imitate
  4. science
  5. -ology
2 而 ér
  1. and
  2. as well as
  3. and so
  4. but (not)
  5. yet (not)
  6. (indicates causal relation)
  7. (indicates change of state)
  8. (indicates contrast)
3 優 yōu
  1. excellent
  2. superior
4 則 zé
  1. (literary) (conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but; then
  2. (bound form) standard; norm
  3. (bound form) principle
  4. (literary) to imitate; to follow
  5. classifier for written items
5 仕 shì
  1. to serve as an official
  2. an official
  3. the two chess pieces in Chinese chess guarding the "general" or "king" 將 jiàng