70 Chinese Proverbs About Wisdom, Love, Life And Work

Today we bring you a compilation of Chinese Proverbs that have to do with different aspects of life especially about wisdom and love.

Chinese civilization has always been oppressed for different reasons. Because of their class culture, because of political dictators… But they have always found a way to create a strong culture around their country, which makes a difference and which we often underestimate in the West. Dedication, effort and moral values ​​are distinctive features of the Chinese idiosyncrasy.

short chinese proverbs

Without further ado, Let’s see some of the best-known Chinese proverbs and their meanings

1. People do their hair every day. Why not the heart?

A reflection on our way of life: we are too obsessed with our image and not enough with our feelings.

2. Great souls have wills; the weak just desires.

If you want to grow in life, your will must come first.

3. You can’t stop the bird of sadness from flying over your head, but you can stop it from nesting in your hair.

About sadness and how to chase it away.

4. When you drink water, remember the source.

How do you interpret this Chinese phrase?

5. He who fears suffering already suffers from fear.

Phobophobia was already contemplated by ancient eastern generations.

6. It is easier to change the course of a river than the character of a man.

The personality of some individuals is really difficult to modify.

7. If you don’t want it to be known, don’t do it.

…Because sooner or later someone will realize that you are hiding something.

8. The best closed door is the one that can be left open.

When nothing is feared, there is no place to be worried.

9. It is easy to avoid the spear, but not the hidden dagger.

A phrase to warn against enemies who pose as friends.

10. Dig the well before you get thirsty.

Prevention is a good idea.

11. The wise man does not say what he knows, and the fool does not know what he says.

Interesting reflection on intelligence and cunning.

12. All rivers flow into the sea, but the sea does not overflow.

Another phrase up for free interpretation.

13. A loon dog, frying pan on the snouts.

A somewhat crude phrase that animal rights activists will not like.

14. There is no delicacy that does not make you sick, nor vice that does not make you angry.

Everything is good in its right measure, but when we exceed it we will have to pay the consequences.

15. Ask the man with experience, not the man with education.

Having read thousands of books doesn’t mean much.

16. If you don’t want it to be known, don’t do it.

-A journey of ten thousand kilometers begins with a single step.

17. Enjoy only the pleasures of the moment.

Thinking about the future and its benefits can be a double-edged sword…

18. Love is not begged, it is deserved.

Clearer than water.

Chinese proverbs about wisdom

Let’s continue with more sayings, this time focused on wisdom and knowledge

19. Before being a dragon, you have to suffer like an ant.

You always start at the bottom.

20. When three march together there must be one in charge.

Without a leader there is no project that can come to fruition.

21. Water floats the boat, but it can also sink it.

Nothing is intrinsically bad or good, it depends on how we use it.

22. The dragon motionless in deep water becomes prey for crabs.

Even if you are very big, if you don’t move you can end up being easy prey.

23. He who does good for others does his own.

There is no need to add much more. If you do good, life will surely give you positive things back.

24. Time flows like the river: it does not return.

A maxim similar to that of the Greek Heraclitus.

25. Medicine can only cure curable diseases.

Science does not work miracles.

Chinese proverbs about love

Although they have a great reputation for being insatiable workers and savers, The Chinese have also written rivers of ink about love

Next we are going to enjoy several traditional phrases that refer to this laudable feeling.

26. The one who has moved the mountain is the one who began by removing the small stones.

Constant effort pays off, even if it takes a while to arrive.

27. He who is not diligent when he is young will complain in vain when he grows old.

Everything you can do when you are young, don’t leave it for the future!

28. One for another, Pascuala with Pascual.

The members of each couple tend to be very similar to each other.

29. A momentary mistake becomes a complete regret.

A miscalculation can leave us affected for a long time.

30. Not seeing what is important because your vision is obstructed by the trivial.

A phrase analogous to the Spanish one: “See the straw in another’s eye”

31. Scalded cat, flees from cold water.

Bad experiences help us to be prepared in the future.

32. Spring is the key season of the year.

Why does spring mark us so much?

33. Poorer than rats; not having anywhere to drop dead.

Sayings that we have adapted to Spanish but that come from Chinese popular culture.

Chinese proverbs about work

We have all noticed that Chinese people are very professional and put in surprising efforts every work day. Whether it is a cliché or not, many of his proverbs abound in this issue: work

34. The work of thought is similar to drilling a well: the water is cloudy at first, but then it becomes clear.

A metaphor to understand how we reach accurate conclusions.

35. You have to climb the mountain as an old man to arrive as a young man.

Another phrase that can have different ways of being interpreted.

36. The tongue resists because it is soft; Teeth break because they are hard.

Toughness is just an appearance. It is adaptable people who survive any circumstance.

37. Beautiful roads do not lead far.

Normally, the roads are narrow. Flat roads often lead to mediocre destinations.

38. Dying without perishing is eternal presence.

We all leave an indelible trace.

39. Nothing feels better to the body than the growth of the spirit.

Personal growth helps us become better day after day.

40. He who gives way widens the path.

Kindness has a global reward.

41. He who steps softly goes far.

Without making a lot of noise and with perseverance you can go much further and with fewer obstacles.

42. If you make plans for a year, plant rice. If you make them for two decades, plant trees. If you do them for life, you educate a person.

A beautiful reflection for life.

43. If you give me fish, I will eat today, if you teach me to fish I will be able to eat tomorrow.

Moral: do not live off others, learn to generate your own resources.

44. No one bathes in the same river twice, because it is always another river and another person.

Taking the teachings of Heraclitus to the extreme.

45. There is no better godfather than a good neighbor.

Whoever has a close person as a friend has a real treasure.

46. ​​The innocence of a mouse can move an elephant.

A reflection about innocence.

47. Beautiful roads do not lead far.

You have to get out of the comfort zone.

48. Blessings never come in pairs, and misfortunes never come alone.

Proverb with pessimistic overtones.

49. The first time is a grace, the second time is a rule.

Repetition indicates a trend.

50. Never kill a fly on a tiger’s head.

The indirect consequences of what we do can be unpredictable.

51. For those who don’t know where they want to go, all roads serve.

Uncertainty makes us make hasty decisions.

52. Whoever has tied a knot has to undo it.

A phrase about responsibility.

53. A snowflake never falls in the wrong place.

Chance is created by opportunities.

54. If you want to enlarge the fields of happiness, start by leveling your heart.

Putting order in your own life is necessary to be happy.

55. Defeat the enemy without staining the sword.

The psychological fight is the one that is most important.

56. Don’t be afraid of being slow, just be afraid of stopping.

Permanent stops are like a trap.

57. Don’t promise anything when you feel euphoric

The emotional can bias us too much.

58. From the blackest clouds water falls that is clean and fertile.

There are opportunities in the darkest moments.

59. Poverty makes thieves and love makes poets.

An interesting aphorism about how context modifies us.

60. It is easier to know how to do something than to do it.

Practice is always easier than theory.

61. Don’t put the pot on the fire if the deer is still running in the forest.

There is no need to anticipate the best possible scenarios.

62. A man is the age of the woman he loves.

An aphorism about traditional couples.

63. Nothing is missing at the funerals of the rich, except someone who feels their death.

A phrase based on black humor.

64. The man who does not know how to smile should not open the store.

Image counts in the business world.

65. Correct your mistakes, if you have made them, and guard against them if you have not made any.

Mistakes strengthen us.

66. Water that is too pure does not have fish.

Perfection has no nuances.

67. Jade needs to be cut to be a gem.

You have to work on your talents to make them shine.

68. He who studies ten years in darkness will be universally known however he wants.

Effort brings excellence.

69. Winning a process is acquiring a chicken and losing a cow.

A mockery of the mechanisms of justice.

70. Wisdom consists of knowing that you know what you know and knowing that you do not know what you do not know.

An aphorism about wisdom.

I hope you liked the collection of Chinese proverbs. I wanted to highlight the main characteristics of different thinkers like Confucius, so If you think you can contribute a proverb that is not on the list, I am open to it

In any case, I hope you like them and share them. All the best!