Free · 31 quotes
Famous Chinese quotes
Each with pinyin over every word, the English, its source and sound.
Learning
学而时习之，不亦说乎？
Is it not a joy to learn something and practise it often?
《论语·学而》 · The Analects, Confucius
温故而知新，可以为师矣。
Go over the old to understand the new, and you can be a teacher.
《论语·为政》 · The Analects, Confucius
学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆。
Learning without thinking leaves you lost; thinking without learning leaves you in danger.
《论语·为政》 · The Analects, Confucius
三人行，必有我师焉。
When three people walk together, one of them can be my teacher.
《论语·述而》 · The Analects, Confucius
不积跬步，无以至千里。
Without adding up small steps, you can’t go a thousand miles.
《荀子·劝学》 · Xunzi, An Encouragement to Learning
活到老，学到老。
Keep learning as long as you live.
俗语 · A saying
书山有路勤为径，学海无涯苦作舟。
Hard work is the path up the mountain of books; effort is the boat across the endless sea of learning.
俗语 · A saying
Life and wisdom
千里之行，始于足下。
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
《道德经》第六十四章 · Tao Te Ching, Laozi
知人者智，自知者明。
Knowing others is wisdom; knowing yourself is insight.
《道德经》第三十三章 · Tao Te Ching, Laozi
知足者富。
Whoever knows they have enough is rich.
《道德经》第三十三章 · Tao Te Ching, Laozi
上善若水。
The highest good is like water.
《道德经》第八章 · Tao Te Ching, Laozi
己所不欲，勿施于人。
Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want done to you.
《论语·卫灵公》 · The Analects, Confucius
塞翁失马，焉知非福。
The old man lost his horse, but who knows if it wasn’t good luck?
俗语，出自《淮南子》 · A saying, from the Huainanzi
Hard work and success
有志者事竟成。
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
《后汉书·耿弇传》 · Book of the Later Han
只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针。
Work hard enough and an iron rod can be ground into a needle.
俗语 · A saying
锲而不舍，金石可镂。
Keep carving and never stop, and even metal and stone can be engraved.
《荀子·劝学》 · Xunzi, An Encouragement to Learning
天行健，君子以自强不息。
As heaven moves on with strength, the noble person never stops growing stronger.
《周易·乾》 · The Book of Changes
知己知彼，百战不殆。
Know your enemy and know yourself, and in a hundred battles you will never be in danger.
《孙子兵法·谋攻》 · The Art of War, Sunzi
失败是成功之母。
Failure is the mother of success.
俗语 · A saying
Love
执子之手，与子偕老。
I hold your hand, to grow old with you.
《诗经·邶风·击鼓》 · The Book of Songs
一日不见，如三秋兮。
One day without seeing you is like three autumns.
《诗经·王风·采葛》 · The Book of Songs
两情若是久长时，又岂在朝朝暮暮。
If love is to last, why must two people be together every morning and evening?
秦观《鹊桥仙》 · Qin Guan, Immortals at the Magpie Bridge
有情人终成眷属。
Those who truly love each other end up together.
俗语 · A saying
情人眼里出西施。
In a lover’s eyes, the one they love is as beautiful as Xi Shi.
俗语 · A saying
Friendship
有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎？
Is it not a delight when a friend comes from far away?
《论语·学而》 · The Analects, Confucius
海内存知己，天涯若比邻。
With a true friend somewhere in the world, the ends of the earth feel like next door.
王勃《送杜少府之任蜀州》 · Wang Bo, Farewell to Prefect Du
君子之交淡如水。
The friendship of good people is as plain as water.
《庄子·山木》 · Zhuangzi
酒逢知己千杯少。
With a true friend, a thousand cups of wine are too few.
俗语 · A saying
Time
一寸光阴一寸金，寸金难买寸光阴。
An inch of time is an inch of gold, but an inch of gold can’t buy an inch of time.
俗语 · A saying
少壮不努力，老大徒伤悲。
Don’t work hard while young, and you’ll grieve in vain when you’re old.
汉乐府《长歌行》 · Song in Long Measure, a Han ballad
莫等闲，白了少年头，空悲切。
Don’t idle your time away, or your young hair will turn white and you’ll grieve in vain.
岳飞《满江红》 · Yue Fei, The River All Red
What are the most famous Chinese quotes?
千里之行，始于足下 (qiānlǐ zhī xíng, shǐ yú zú xià), “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”, from Laozi; 己所不欲，勿施于人, “don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want done to you”, and 学而时习之，不亦说乎, the Analects’ first line, from Confucius; and 知己知彼，百战不殆 from Sunzi’s Art of War.
Are “ancient Chinese proverbs” in English real?
Many are not. “May you live in interesting times” has no known Chinese source, and the word for crisis, 危机, does not mean “danger plus opportunity”: 机 there means a turning point. Every line on this page names the book or poem it comes from, or says it is a common saying.
What does 千里之行，始于足下 mean word for word?
“A journey of a thousand 里 begins beneath the feet.” A 里 (lǐ) is a Chinese mile, today half a kilometre, so the line is about the first step, not a thousand English miles.
Can I use these quotes for a tattoo or a card?
Yes. They are written in simplified characters, with pinyin over every word. Our calligraphy generator writes any of them in brush styles, and the tattoo translator checks a phrase before you ink it.
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English ours; pinyin from our own reader.