路遙知馬力

路遥知马力
lùyáozhīmǎlì

a long road tests a horse's strength; distance tests a horse's stamina; only time can reveal a person's true strength

Wiktionary

Entry Composition

=1 路 Lù surname Lu
=1 路 lù
  1. journey
  2. route
  3. line (bus etc)
  4. sort; kind

classifier: 條
2 遙 yáo (bound form) distant; remote; far away
=3 知 zhī
  1. to know
  2. to be aware
=3 知 zhì
  1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) Original form of 智 (zhì, “knowing, wisdom, intelligence”).
  2. Original form of 智 (zhì, “knowing, wisdom, intelligence”).
4 馬力 mǎlì horsepower

Containing this entry

路遙知馬力，日久見人心 lùyáozhīmǎlì,rìjiǔjiànrénxīn just as distance determines the stamina of a horse, so does time reveal a person's true heart (proverb)