小心驶得万年船

小心驶得万年船 (Pinyin: xiǎo xīn shǐ dé wàn nián chuán) word-for-word means:

• 小心 = carefully
• 驶得 = driven
• 万 = 10,000
• 年 = year
• 船 = boat

The boat in the original Chinese phrase evokes the Chinese seafaring culture, while the "10,000 years" appears in Chinese literature as a general phrase meaning "a very long time" (see the Japanese-derived term "banzai").

Overall, the phrase refers to the idea that if you use something with caution, you can make it last a long time; or, if you do things with more caution, you can live longer!