Chinese Proverbs About Life & Wisdom — Page 4

Tánhuā yī xiàn

"The queen of the night flower appears once"

Mó léng liǎng kě

"Rounded edges, either way works"

Qīngguān nán duàn jiāwùshì

"Even an incorruptible official cannot judge household affairs"

Zhì zhě qiān lǜ, bì yǒu yī shī; yú zhě qiān lǜ, bì yǒu yī dé

"The wise person, after a thousand considerations, will surely make one mistake; the fool, after a thousand considerations, will surely get one thing right"

Jiā jiā yǒu běn nán niàn de jīng

"Every family has a scripture that is difficult to read"

Sānbǎi liùshí háng, hángháng chū zhuàngyuán

"Three hundred sixty trades; every trade produces a top scholar"

Shuí rén bèi hòu wú rén shuō, nǎ gè rén qián bù shuō rén

"Who is not talked about behind their back? Who does not talk about others to their face?"

Rén gè yǒu zhì, bù kě qiǎng qiú

"Each person has their own aspirations; one cannot force them"

Yè jīng yú qín huāng yú xī, xíng chéng yú sī huǐ yú suí

"Excellence comes from diligence and is ruined by play; accomplishment comes from reflection and is destroyed by casualness"

Yè jīng yú qín huāng yú xī

"Excellence comes from diligence; ruin comes from play"

Chú le láng jiù wú hǎo qīn

"Except for a brother-in-law, there is no good relative"

Bù pà yī wàn, zhǐ pà wàn yī

"Don't fear ten thousand — fear the one-in-ten-thousand"

Lè jí shēng bēi

"When joy reaches its extreme, sorrow follows"

Huà hǔ huà pí nán huà gǔ, zhī rén zhī miàn bù zhī xīn

"Painting a tiger, you can paint its skin but not its bones; knowing a person, you know their face but not their heart"

Jiàn guài bù guài, qí guài zì bài

"When you see something strange, do not be surprised; the strange thing will defeat itself"

Shìshí shèng yú xióngbiàn

"Facts are superior to eloquent argument"

Huà hǔ bù chéng fǎn lèi quǎn

"Attempting to draw a tiger but ending up with something resembling a dog"

Shībài shì chénggōng zhī mǔ

"Failure is success's mother"

Zhōng yán nì ěr lì yú xíng

"Honest advice is hard to hear but good for your actions"

chī yī qiàn, zhǎng yī zhì

"Fall into a moat, grow in wisdom"

Luò yè guī gēn

"Fallen leaves return to their roots"

Rén pà chū míng zhū pà zhuàng

"People fear fame as pigs fear getting fat"

Jiā hé wàn shì xīng

"When the family is harmonious, all things prosper"

Jiā yǒu qiān kǒu, zhǔ shì yī rén

"A family may have a thousand members, but only one person leads"

Fù cí zǐ xiào, xiōng yǒu dì gōng

"Father is kind, son is filial; elder brother is friendly, younger brother is respectful"

Tóu sān jiǎo nán tī

"The first three kicks are the hardest to execute"

Quán bù lí shǒu, qǔ bù lí kǒu

"The fist never leaves the hand; the song never leaves the mouth"

Shǎn shuò qí cí

"To speak evasively, dodging direct answers"

Dà shuǐ chōng le lóng wáng miào

"Great flood washes away the Dragon King's Temple"

Qiáng nèi kāi huā qiáng wài xiāng

"Flowers bloom inside the wall, but their fragrance spreads outside"

Huā yǒu chóng kāi rì, rén wú zài nián shào

"Flowers have their day to bloom again; people never have their youth twice"

Yú gōng yí shān

"The foolish old man moves the mountains"

Shǎ rén yǒu shǎ fú

"Simpletons have simpleton's luck; fools are blessed"

Chǐ yǒu suǒ duǎn, cùn yǒu suǒ cháng

"Everyone has strengths and weaknesses"

Qiǎng niǔ de guā bù tián

"A forcibly twisted melon is not sweet"

fú huò xiāng yī

"Good fortune and misfortune depend on each other"

Mò nì zhī jiāo

"A friendship without opposition or conflict"

Xiǎorén zhī jiāo gān ruò lǐ

"The friendship of small men is sweet as sweet wine"

Yǐ shì jiāo zhě, shì qīng zé jué; yǐ lì jiāo zhě, lì qióng zé sàn

"Those who befriend through power, when power falls, the friendship ends; those who befriend through profit, when profit is exhausted, they scatter"

Yóu jiǎn rù shē yì, yóu shē rù jiǎn nán

"Going from frugality to luxury is easy; going from luxury to frugality is hard"

Jǐng dǐ zhī wā

"The frog at the bottom of the well"

Yī píngzi bù xiǎng, bàn píngzi huàngdang

"A full bottle makes no sound; a half-full bottle sloshes around"

Bǎo hàn bù zhī è hàn jī

"The well-fed man does not know the hungry man's hunger"

jù shā chéng tǎ

"Gather sand to build a tower"

Jiàng zài wài, jūn mìng yǒu suǒ bù shòu

"When the general is abroad, there are some sovereign commands he need not accept"

Jiàng zài móu ér bù zài yǒng, bīng zài jīng ér bù zài duō

"A general's strength lies in strategy, not bravery; soldiers should be elite, not numerous"

Jiàng xiàng běn wú zhǒng, nán ér dāng zì qiáng

"Generals and ministers are not born to it; a man should strengthen himself"

Jūnzǐ zhī jiāo dàn rú shuǐ, xiǎorén zhī jiāo gān ruò lǐ

"The friendship of gentlemen is as plain as water; the friendship of petty people is as sweet as wine"

Jūn zǐ yǒu sān lè

"The gentleman has three joys"

Jūnzǐ yī yán, sì mǎ nán zhuī

"Once a gentleman speaks, even four horses cannot chase it back"