一寸光阴一寸金,寸金难买寸光阴

yī cùn guāng yīn yī cùn jīn , cùn jīn nán mǎi cùn guāng yīn

lit. an interval of time is worth an ounce of gold, money cannot buy you time (saying)

fig. time is precious

一

yī

one

寸

cùn

a unit of length

光

guāng

light; ray (CL:道[dao4])

阴

yīn

variant of 陰|阴[yin1]

一

yī

one

寸

cùn

a unit of length

金

jīn

gold

,

,

寸

cùn

a unit of length

金

jīn

gold

难

nán

difficult (to...)

买

mǎi

to buy

寸

cùn

a unit of length

光

guāng

light; ray (CL:道[dao4])

阴

yīn

variant of 陰|阴[yin1]