Chinese proverbs about education and training

A selection of proverbs about the importance of learning and studying hard to do well in examinations.

难得糊涂

Nan dé hú tu [nan de hu tu]

difficult achieve bewildered

Too hard to understand

Where ignorance is bliss, it is folly to be wise

我看见我忘记,我听见我记住,我做我了解

Wǒ kàn jiàn wǒ wàng jì, wǒ tīng jiàn wǒ jì zhù, wǒ zuò wǒ liǎo jiě [wo kan jian wo wang ji, wo ting jian wo ji zhu, wo zuo wo liao jie]

I catch sight of I forget, I hear I remember, I do explained

When I see, I forget; when I hear, I remember but when I do, I understand.

You learn only by trying it, not by just observing or talking about it

Practise what you preach

温故而知新

Wēn gù ér zhī xīn [wen gu er zhi xin]

revise ancient but know new

Study the past and yet know the present

Studying the past helps to understand the present

一分耕耘, 一分收获

Yī fēn gēng yún, yī fēn shōu huò [yi fen geng yun, yi fen shou huo]

one part cultivation, one part harvest

Half growing the crop; half harvesting it. Can't expect a harvest without cultivating the crop

Hard work is needed to achieve a good result

Hard work never did anyone any harm

青出于蓝而胜于蓝

Qīng chū yú lán ér shèng yú lán [qing chu yu lan er sheng yu lan]

indigo blue comes out foremost blue but excel foremost blue

Indigo is obtained from the indigo plant, but such color is bluer than the plant itself

Wise schooling has produced excellence beyond the teacher. The follower has surpassed the master.

瘦死的骆驼比马大

Shòu sǐ de luò tuo bǐ mǎ dà [shou si de luo tuo bi ma da]

thin die camel compare horse big

The body of a starved camel is bigger than the body of a living horse.

Respect ancient wisdom rather than the new

熟能生巧

Shú néng shēng qiǎo [shu neng sheng qiao]

mature can produce skill

Learning a skill from long experience

With long practice one can learn any skill

Practice makes perfect

读万卷书不如行万里路

Dú wàn juǎn shū bù rú xíng wàn lǐ lù [du wan juan shu bu ru xing wan li lu]

read 10000 roll up book no like walk 10000 mile road

Reading ten thousand books is not the same as walking a thousand miles

Learn from practical experience not from books

囫囵吞枣

Hú lún tūn zǎ [hu lun tun za]

whole all swallow date

Swallow a date along with its stone

To read without fully understanding

学好三年,学坏三天

Xué hǎo sān nián, xué huài sān tiān [xue hao san nian, xue huai san tian]

study well three year, study bad three days

It takes three years to learn well; it takes only three days to degrade

Falling into bad ways is far easier than keeping to the good

The road to hell is paved with good intentions

玉不琢不成器

Yù bù zhuó bù chén qì [yu bu zhuo bu chen qi]

jade not polished not accomplish gem

Jade requires fashioning to turn into a gem

Training and discipline are needed to build character

赐子千金不如教子一艺

Cì zǐ qiān jīn bù rú jiào zǐ yī yì [ci zi qian jin bu ru jiao zi yi yi]

grant child thousand cash not like teach child one skill

Better to teach a child a skill than give money

Learning a new skill will pay dividends in the future

授人以鱼只解一时之急,授人以渔则解一生之需

Shòu rén yǐ yú zhǐ jiù yī shí zhī jí, shòu rén yǐ yú zé jiě yī shēng zhī xū [shou ren yi yu zhi jiu yi shi zhi ji, shou ren yi yu ze jie yi sheng zhi xu]

award person use fish one explain once quick, award person use fishing standard separate one produce must

Give a fish and be fed for only a day. Teach how to fish and be free from hunger forever

It is important to learn a skill that will last for life

学无止境

Xué wú zhǐ jìng [xue wu zhi jing]

learn nothing stop border

There is no limit to learning

Knowledge is infinite

步步高升

Bù bù gāo shēng [bu bu gao sheng]

step step tall ascend

Step by step promotion

Congratulation on promotion or a new job

严师出高徒

Yán shī chū gāo tú [yan shi chu gao tu]

strict teacher produce high student

Strict teachers produce successful students

Strict discipline is needed to teach effectively

Spare the rod and spoil the child

废寝忘食

Fèi qǐn wàng shí [fei qin wang shi]

abandon sleep forget eat

To forget to sleep and eat

To be absorbed in work and study

学而不思则罔,思而不学则殆

Xué ér bù sī zé wǎng, sī ér bù xué zé dài [xue er bu si ze wang, si er bu xue ze dai]

study but no think rule deceive, think but no study rule dangerous

Learning without thinking means wasted work; thinking without learning is dangerous

Studying hard is important and gives rewards

十年树木,百年树人

Shí nián shù mù, bǎi nián shù rén [shi nian shu mu, bai nian shu ren]

ten year establish timber, hundred year establish person

It takes ten years for a tree to grow but it takes a hundred years for talents to be nurtured

Studying may be slow and arduous but will be worth it

Nine Dragon Wall in the Forbidden City in Beijing. 2012. All made from ceramic glazed tiles. Photo by Seebeer ➚, available under a Creative Commons license ➚.

念念不忘

Niàn niàn bù wàng [nian nian bu wang]

study study not neglect

Do not neglect your studies. Ponder on problems

Study hard. Keep thinking about a problem

Where there's a will there's a way

子不教父之过

Zǐ bù jiào fù zhī guò [zi bu jiao fu zhi guo]

child no teach father's past

A father is responsible for his son's conduct

Parents are responsible for their children's education

Our proverbs come with lots of information. The modern Chinese characters are followed by the proverb in pinyin. Next, there is a crude character by character transliteration into English, followed by a more accurate English translation. If this is a Chinese proverb alluding to history the meaning may still not be clear in English, so the general meaning follows. Finally some proverbs have fairly direct English equivalents, if so the English proverb is included at the end.

Our translations are in need of improvement, so please let us know your suggestions.