Chinese idiom · 成语
寒窗苦读
Meaning
Studying hard by a cold window; diligent learning in hardship.
Character by character
Origin and story
Literary imageA cold window became a literary image of the uncomfortable, often impoverished circumstances in which a student persevered. In the opening of Guan Hanqing's Yuan play Hudie meng, a speaker recalls the toil endured beneath such a window. Chapter 66 of Honglou meng likewise uses years at a cold window to stand for years of study.
These attestations show how the window came to suggest the student's whole life of effort. Adding ku du, intensive or painstaking study, makes that meaning explicit. The phrase evokes sustained dedication despite difficulty; it need not mean that a modern student actually studies beside an unheated window.
Sources and further reading
In everyday life
经过多年的寒窗苦读，她终于考上了理想的大学。
After years of diligent study, she finally got into her dream university.
Usually describes sustained academic effort over years, not a single busy evening.