Chinese proverbs about laboring towards success
When striving towards a better job, or bringing up a family you may need a proverb to keep yourself determined for the long haul towards success.
玉不琢不成器
jade not polished not accomplish gem
Jade requires fashioning to turn into a gem
Training and discipline are needed to build character
百折不挠
hundred bend not scratch
Not to falter despite many setbacks
Persistence pays off in the end
Patience is a virtue
废寝忘食
abandon sleep forget eat
To forget to sleep and eat
To be absorbed in work and study
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
人往高处走,水往低处流
person towards high place walk, water towards low place flow
A person moves up while water always trickles down
There is always room for improvement
Practice makes perfect
谈何容易
chat what look easy
Talking makes look easy
Not as easy as it seemed
Easier said than done
集腋成裘
gather armpit accomplish fur coat
A fur coat can be made from poor scraps
Make do with what you have
Beggars can't be choosers
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
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
身体力行
health strength walk
To maintain health by strenuous walk
Following the advice given oneself
Practice what you preach
粗枝大叶
thick branch big leaf
A large branch with large leaves. Unable to draw in fine detail
Lack of attention to detail
日以继夜
day take continue
Day and night continuously
Working without a break. Exhausted
不怕路长只怕志短
not fear road long only fear aspire short
Not fear a long road; fear aspiration to start
Do not be afraid of a long road to success only be afraid of a shortage of ambition
Rome was not built in a day
不入虎穴焉得虎子
not enter tiger den how get tiger cub
Without entering a tiger's den how can you hope to fetch a tiger cub
Great rewards require a great risk
Fortune favors the brave. Nothing ventured, nothing gained
一步登天
one stride reach heaven
Approach heaven with a single stride
An attempt to achieve a goal all in one go without hard work
Rome was not built in a day
半途而废
half way but give-up
Give up half way through
To abandon work half done
干活不由东累死也无功
do live no reason master pile up die also no merit
Working without obeying the boss will bring only hard work and no merit
Only work on what is needed to be done
铁杵成针
iron pestle produce needle
Grind an iron rod down to a needle
Perseverance can achieve anything
千里之行始于足下
thousand mile's walk begin goto foot down
A long march starts from a single step
Perseverance will lead to eventual success
Mighty oaks from little acorns grow
有何不可
have what not can
Anything not possible
Anything may be possible
愚公移山
foolish man move mountain
The foolish old man who moved mountains?. The old story ➚ is that an old man wanted to move a mountain that blocked his path. Despite widespread cynicism he and his descendents gradually wore down the mountain
Anything can be achieved with persistence
笨鸟先飞早入林
stupid bird first fly early enter forest
A clumsy bird that flies first will get to the forest earlier
Starting early helps achieve success
The tortoise beats the hare. The early bird catches the worm
人心不足蛇吞象
person heart no attain snake swallow elephant
A person's greed is like a snake that seeks to swallow an elephant
Greed is insatiable
凤毛麟角
phoenix hair unicorn horn
As rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns
Seeking the unobtainable
逆境出人才
disobey border go out person ability
Rebellion creates capability
Hardship and adversity fosters talent
If life deals you lemons, make lemonade
点石成金
touch stone accomplish gold
Turn stone into gold
To turn something of little worth into something of value
说到做到
speak arrive make arrive
Say and then make
Do what one says
Actions speak louder than words
功亏一篑
completion lost one basket of earth
A new dam is left incomplete due to the lack of one basket of earth
See things through to the end
蚂蚁啃骨头
ant gnaw bone
Like ants gnawing at a bone
Dogged perseverance to achieve a long term end
镜花水月
mirror flower water moon
Flowers in a mirror and the moon in water
Beautiful but unattainable dreams. Unrealistic ambitions
人心隔肚皮
person heart separate belly
A person's heart is not discernible from looking just at the body
People are inscrutable. Do not judge by appearance
Do not judge a book by its cover
五十步笑一百步
50 pace smile 100 pace
Fifty steps laugh at a hundred steps
Being complacent about the future. Believing a job is all but done when only half done.
Pride cometh before a fall
哀兵必胜
grief weapons certainly victory
A vengeful army will certainly win
Strong emotion galvanizes effort
志不可慢时不可失
aspiration not can slow, time not can lose
Do not let your aspirations weaken; do not waste time
Keep hold of your hopes and dreams, waste no time in achieving them
Don't change horses midstream
维妙维肖
tie clever tie resemble
Weave skillfully life like images
Produce an image remarkably true to life; highly skilled
你死我活
you die I live
Fight to the death
To fight to the bitter end
一分耕耘, 一分收获
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
飞蛾投火
fly moth hurl fire
A moth throws itself into a flame
Heading for self destruction
Like a moth to a flame
Beach scene at Sanya, Hainan. June 2012.
Image by Dounai ➚ available under a Creative Commons license ➚
水滴石穿
water drip stone penetrate
Dripping water eventually wears away stone
If you persevere, you will eventually achieve your goal
Mighty oaks from little acorns grow
单枪匹马
single spear horse
A single spear and a single horse
Taking on a difficult task on your own
事倍功半
work multiple times merit half
Work very hard for half the result
Work with care rather than speed
Less haste more speed
有钱能使鬼推磨
have money can send devil push grindstone
If you have money you can make the devil push a grind stone
Money can buy you anything
离乡背井
leave village behind well
Leave one's own village
A stranger away from home
见义勇为
see justice brave act
See the just cause and act on it
To see what is right and act with courage
兔死狗烹
rabbit dog cook
Trusted helpers are dispensable after their mission is complete
Watch your back. Once the job is done you may be sacked
赐子千金不如教子一艺
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
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
熟能生巧
mature can produce skill
Learning a skill from long experience
With long practice one can learn any skill
Practice makes perfect
不怕慢就怕站
not fear slow come-near fear halt
Not fear slowing down; fear coming to a halt
Do not be afraid of slowing down as long as you keep going
A rolling stone gathers no moss
不到黄河不死心
not arrive Yellow River not die heart
Not giving up until one reaches the Yellow River
Keep going until you hit an insurmountable obstacle
He who hesitates is lost
千山万水
thousand mountain ten thousand rivers
Many mountains and many rivers
A long and arduous journey
破釜沉舟
broken pot sink boat
Smash the pots and sink the boats. A story ➚ from the Qin dynasty tells of a general who refused to accept possibility of retreat by burning the boats and smashing the cooking pots
No going back whatever happens. Cutting off all possibility of retreat
Don't burn your bridges behind you
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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