Chinese proverbs about patience and perseverance
A set of proverbs to help you cope stoically with life's ups and downs. Perseverance and restraint are the common themes from this large collection.
乐极生悲
joy extreme produce sorrow
After extreme joy will come sorrow
All good things must come to an end
天下没有不散的宴席
world does not have no break up of banquet
No banquet in the world goes on forever
Good fortune can not last for ever
All good things must come to an end
好马不吃回头草
good horse no eat return head grass
A good horse will not eat the grass behind it
Pride may forbid a person going back to his home town after failure. Do not dwell on past actions, progress forward
循序渐进
follow order gradually enter
Make gradual progress one step at a time
To make steady step by step progress towards an end
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
留得青山在,不怕没柴烧
remain get green mountain exist, no fear have no firewood
So long as the green mountains are preserved, there will be no shortage of firewood
Do not despair, there is plenty of time and opportunity
Everything comes to him who waits
屋漏偏逢连夜雨
house leak slanting happen upon continuous night rain
When the roof is leaking, there will be continuous nights of rain
Misfortunes tend to come all at once
When it rains, it pours
来日方长
arrive day region long
Long time ahead
There is adequate time to achieve your desires
All things come to those who wait
饥不择食
hunger not choose eat
When hungry don't care what you eat
The starving aren't fussy over their food - take whatever is available
Beggars can't be choosers
木已成舟
tree cease make boat
The tree has been made into a boat
Too late to change anything
What's done is done
吃软不吃硬
eat soft not eat hard
Only able to chew tender food, not the tough
Unable to withstand harsh criticism
冰冻三尺,非一日之寒
ice freeze three foot, wrong one day single cold
Three feet of ice is not formed in a single day
It takes time to achieve satisfactory results
Rome was not built in a day
宁为玉碎,不为瓦全
stand pride jade broken, no pride tile complete
Don't be a proud piece of broken jade, be a complete tile
Better to persevere than face destruction by standing out
吃一堑,长一智
eat one chasm long one wise
Fall into a pit but learn from the experience
Gain wisdom from experience of set backs
Learn from your mistakes
水满则溢
water full level overflow
Water rises only to overflow
At the point of a crisis. Things are about to turn around
The tide is on the turn
一步一个脚印儿
one stride one footprint
Every step leaves a footprint
Work steadily one step at a time in order to make solid progress
Rome was not built in a day
骑虎难下
ride tiger difficult down
When on a tiger's back, it is hard to dismount
When taking risks you have to live with the consequences, it is difficult to back out
He who sups with the Devil should have a long spoon
你死我活
you die I live
Fight to the death
To fight to the bitter end
藕断丝连
lotus root break silken thread links
Although the lotus root may be cut, its fibered threads are still connected
Friendship survives adversity
塞翁失马,安知非福
frontier old man lose horse, peace know wrong blessing
When the old man from the frontier lost his horse; how could he have known that it would not be fortuitous? The story ➚ is that a man lost his horse but actually it went over the Great Wall and brought back several horses with it
A setback may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
Every cloud has a silver lining
Chinese folding fan with traditional landscape painting
否极泰来
evil extreme good arrive
At the extreme point of misfortune, good will surely arrive
Things at the worst will mend
The darkest hour is just before the dawn
福无重至,祸不单行
good fortune not double arrive, misfortune not single walk
Blessings come along alone; troubles often come together
Bad fortune is more frequent than good
Ill fortune comes in threes
因噎废食
because choke abandon eat
If is foolish to refuse to eat just because of the chance of choking
Life does not come without risks. Risk of failure is not an argument for not trying
山不转路转
mountain no turn road turn
A mountain cannot turn, but a road can
It is not necessary to continue in the same direction, there are other alternatives to avoid an obstacle
There's more than one way to skin a cat
生米煮成熟饭
produce rice cook accomplish well-cooked food
The rice has already been cooked
What has been done can not be undone
What's done is done
一丝不苟
one thread not careless
To take care of every thread in a cloth
To be meticulous. To pay atttention to every detail
If a job is worth doing it is worth doing well
揠苗助长
pull up seedling help lengthen
Young plants can not be forced to grow by stretching them
Be patient and let nature run its course
Patience is a virtue. A watched pot never boils
念念不忘
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
一笑解千愁
one smile separate ten thousand worries
One smile can erase a myriad worries
Keep cheerful against all the odds
Keep your chin up
节外生枝
joint outside produce branch
Leaves emerge from where they should not
New problems pop up unexpectedly
物极必反
thing extreme certainly turn around
Extreme conditions will surely calm down
Things will turn around in the opposite direction when they reach the highest point
The tide is on the turn
捷足先登
victory foot first climb
The winning foot is the first to climb
To succeed need to start off first
The early bird gets the worm
祸不单行
disaster not alone walk
Disasters do not walk alone
Misfortunes tend to come all at once
When it rains, it pours
苦尽甘来
bitter exhuast sweet arrive
Bitterness over, happiness arrives. At the end of suffering comes relief
After troubles comes happiness
The darkest hour is just before the dawn
覆水难收
spilled water difficult collect
Spilled water can not be brought back
What is done is done
There's no use crying over spilt milk
夜长梦多
night long dream many
The longer the night, the more dreams there will be
When in hard times it is foolish to merely dream of better things
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride
小洞不补,大洞吃苦
small hole no mend big hole eat bitter
A small hole not mended in time will soon become a larger hole more difficult to mend
Do not put off taking action to put things right
A stitch in time saves nine
雨过天晴
rain past heaven bright
The rain has gone, the sky brightens
Things are improving. Hope for the future
树欲静而风不止
tree desire quiet but wind not still
The trees want to remain quiet, but the wind will not stop
In spite of a wish for peace, trouble is brewing
Entrance through the Gate of Peace at the Lama Temple Beijing (Yonghegong), or Palace of Peace and Harmony Lama Temple or Yonghegong Lamsery, a renowned lama temple of the Yellow Hat Sect of Lamaism. Building work on the YongHeGong Temple started in 1694 during the Qing Dynasty. It originally served as an official residence for court eunuchs. It was then converted into the court of Prince Yong Zheng (Yin Zhen), a son of emperor KangXi. After YongZheng's ascension to the throne in 1722, half of the building was converted into a lamasery, a monastery for monks of Tibetan Buddhism, while the other half remained an imperial palace. November 2006. Image by Dennis Jarvis ➚ from Halifax, Canada available under a Creative Commons license ➚
常将有日思无日,莫将无时想有时
normal support has day think nothing day, noone support nothing time think has time
When rich there is time to think all day, when poor there is no time to think
When rich, you have time to dream, but do not dream of riches when you are poor
粗茶淡饭
coarse tea bland food
Eat a simple home-made food and yet be healthy
On a starvation diet
白手起家
clear hand make house
Empty hand make house
To build up something from nothing
海纳百川
sea admit hundred rivers
All rivers run to the sea
We all shared a common destiny
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.
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