聚沙成塔
聚沙成塔 (jù shā chéng tǎ) literally means “gather sand make tower” and expresses “small things build achievement”. This idiom is used when describing situations involving success and perseverance.
Also searched as: ju sha cheng ta, ju sha cheng ta,聚沙成塔 meaning, 聚沙成塔 in english
Small things build achievement
Pronunciation: jù shā chéng tǎ Literal meaning: Gather sand make tower
Origin & Usage
The Lotus Sutra counts even children heaping sand into toy pagodas among the acts that lead toward buddhahood. Gathering (聚) sand (沙) makes (成) a tower (塔): no single grain matters, and the tower is nothing but grains. The teaching is deliberately generous, treating the smallest and least serious effort as genuinely cumulative. Chinese sets it beside 集腋成裘, armpit-fur into a robe, and both are used to encourage persistence at a scale that feels too small to be worth counting.
Examples
English: "The platform grew through millions of small user contributions"
Chinese: 该平台通过数百万用户的小贡献而发展壮大
Related Chinese Idioms
Similar idioms about success & perseverance
集腋成裘
jí yè chéng qiú
Small efforts make big results
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水到渠成
shuǐ dào qú chéng
Success comes naturally
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铁杵成针
tiě chǔ chéng zhēn
Success through persistence
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玉汝于成
yù rǔ yú chéng
Adversity is what finishes you
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一气呵成
yī qì hē chéng
Finished without a break in it
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胸有成竹
xiōng yǒu chéng zhú
Have clear plan beforehand
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披沙拣金
pī shā jiǎn jīn
Find value among worthless
Learn more →
聚精会神
jù jīng huì shén
Concentrate fully
Learn more →
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 聚沙成塔 mean in English?
聚沙成塔 (jù shā chéng tǎ) literally translates to “Gather sand make tower” and is used to express “Small things build achievement”. This Chinese idiom belongs to the Success & Perseverance category.
When is 聚沙成塔 used?
Situation: The platform grew through millions of small user contributions
What is the pinyin for 聚沙成塔?
The pinyin pronunciation for 聚沙成塔 is “jù shā chéng tǎ”.
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