| 磨刀不误砍柴工 |
mó dāo bù wù kǎn chái gōng |
lit. sharpening the axe won't make the wood-splitting take longer (idiom) / fig. time invested in preparations is not lost / a beard well lathered is half shaved |
| 磨 |
mó |
to rub / to grind / to polish / to sharpen / to wear down / to die out / to waste time / to pester / to insist |
| 磨 |
mò |
grindstone / to grind / to turn round |
| 磨刀 |
mó dāo |
to hone (a knife) |
| 刀 |
Dāo |
surname Dao |
| 刀 |
dāo |
knife / blade / single-edged sword / cutlass / CL:把 / (slang) dollar (loanword) / classifier for sets of one hundred sheets (of paper) / classifier for knife cuts or stabs |
| 不 |
bù |
no; not so / (bound form) not; un- |
| 不误 |
bù wù |
used in expressions of the form 照V照V不误, in which V is a verb, 照 means "as before", and the overall meaning is "carry on (doing sth) regardless" or "continue (to do sth) in spite of changed circumstances", e.g. 照买不误, to keep on buying (a product) regardless (of price hikes) |
| 误 |
wù |
mistake / error / to miss / to harm / to delay / to neglect / mistakenly |
| 砍 |
kǎn |
to chop / to cut down / to throw sth at sb |
| 柴 |
Chái |
surname Chai |
| 柴 |
chái |
firewood / lean (of meat) / thin (of a person) |
| 工 |
gōng |
work / worker / skill / profession / trade / craft / labor |