愚公移山
yú gōng yí shān · HSK 7
the old man moves mountains
⛰️ 愚 foolish + 公 old-man + 移 move + 山 mountain = persistence wins
From a fable: an old man digs at two mountains blocking his door; mocked as foolish, he says his sons and grandsons will keep at it until the work is done. Means steady effort overcomes any obstacle.
公 — eight 八 + private 厶
Originally an ideograph showing 八 (to divide) over 厶 (private/self), depicting the act of splitting away from selfish interest. The combination came to mean 'public' or 'fair,' the opposite of private. It later extended to senses like 'duke,' 'lord,' and 'grandfather.'
移 — grain 禾 + many 多
Originally a semantic-phonetic compound: 禾 (grain) gives the meaning and 多 (duō) suggested the sound in Old Chinese. It first referred to transplanting rice seedlings, then broadened to mean 'to move, shift, or relocate' in general.
山 — pictograph of three mountain peaks
山 is one of the oldest pictographs in Chinese, originally drawn in oracle bone script as three pointed peaks rising from a baseline. The form was simplified over time into the modern three vertical strokes on a base. Its meaning has stayed remarkably stable: 'mountain' or 'hill'.