养兵千日，用兵一时

養兵千日，用兵一時
yǎngbīngqiānrì,yòngbīngyīshí
lit. Train an army for a thousand days to use it for an hour. (idiom); fig. extensive preparation eventually pays off

CEDICT

Entry Composition

1 养兵 yǎngbīng to train troops
=2 千 qiān thousand
=2 千 qiān used in 秋千 qiūqiān
3 日 rì
  1. sun
  2. day
  3. date, day of the month
4 用兵 yòngbīng to make use of troops; to resort to arms
5 一时 yīshí
  1. a period of time
  2. a while
  3. for a short while
  4. temporary
  5. momentary
  6. at the same time