磨刀不误砍柴工
mó dāo bù wù kǎn chái gōngmodaobuwukanchaigong
- 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
mó dāo bù wù kǎn chái gōngmodaobuwukanchaigong
Data from JMdict, KANJIDIC2 (EDRDG), KanjiVG, CC-CEDICT and Make Me a Hanzi. Sources and licences