后来居上

hòu lái jū shàng

the latecomer overtakes those who started first

Character by character

后hòu
later

来lái
come

居jū
take

上shàng
the top

深圳起步晚，却后来居上，成了一线城市。

Shenzhen started late yet overtook the rest and became a first-tier city.

Tone: positive (praise).

Learn this in Lesson 6 · HSK 5: 一线城市 (City tiers)

A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.