shí​nián​shù​mù

it takes ten years to grow a tree

Senses

十年树木/ 十年樹木 shí​nián​shù​mù it takes ten years to grow a tree

it takes a long time to cultivate trees; often used as the first half of a proverb to contrast the time needed for physical growth with the much longer time needed for human education

References

synonym 百年树人/百年樹人 十年树木/十年樹木