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Chinese Proverb
- More quotations on: [Birds]
A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers.
Chinese Proverb
A book holds a house of gold.
Chinese Proverb
A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.
Chinese Proverb
A book tightly shut is but a block of paper.
Chinese Proverb
A child's life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark.
Chinese Proverb
A diamond with a flaw is worth more than a pebble without imperfections.
Chinese Proverb
A filthy mouth will not utter decent language.
Chinese Proverb
A fool judges people by the presents they give him.
Chinese Proverb
A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man perfected without trials.
Chinese Proverb
A nation's treasure is in its scholars.
Chinese Proverb
A rat who gnaws at a cat's tail invites destruction.
Chinese Proverb
Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.
Chinese Proverb
- More quotations on: [Proverbs]
Be the first to the field and the last to the couch.
Chinese Proverb
Chinese Proverb
If you bow at all, bow low.
Chinese Proverb
- More quotations on: [Proverbs]
If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it.
Chinese Proverb
hysterics.
Source: (Chinese) A sly rabbit will have three openings to its den.
Source: (Chinese) A smile will gain you ten more years of life.
Source: (Chinese) A thorn defends the rose harming only those who would steal the
blossom.
Source: (Chinese) A thousand cups of wine do not suffice when true friends meet, but
half a sentence is too much when there is no meeting of minds.
Source: (Chinese) A thousand pounds and a bottle of hay are all one at domesday.
Source: (Chinese) A vacant mind is open to all suggestions, as a hollow mountain returns
all sounds.
Source: (Chinese) A whitewashed crow soon shows black again.
Source: (Chinese) A wicked book cannot repent.
Source: (Chinese) A wicked companion invites us all to hell.
Source: (Chinese) A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows public
opinion.
Source: (Chinese) A young branch takes on all the bends that one gives it.
Source: (Chinese) A young doctor makes a full graveyard.
Source: (Chinese) Abroad we judge the dress; at home we judge the man.
Source: (Chinese) Add legs to the snake after you have finished drawing it.
Source: (Chinese) After three days without reading, talk becomes flavorless.
Source: (Chinese) All cats love fish but fear to wet their paws.
Source: (Chinese) All people are your relatives, therefore expect only trouble from them.
Source: (Chinese) All things at first appear difficult.
Source: (Chinese) All things change, and we change with them. [Lat., Omnia mutantur,
nos et mutamur in illis.]
Source: (Chinese) Alms given openly will be rewarded in secret.
Source: (Chinese) Among ten matchmakers only nine will lie.
Source: (Chinese) An ambassador bears no blame.
Source: (Chinese) An ignorant doctor is no better than a murderer.
Source: (Chinese) An inch of time is an inch of gold, but you can't buy that inch of time
with an inch of gold.
Source: (Chinese) An old friend met in a far country is like rain after drought.
Source: (Chinese) Avoid suspicion: when you're walking through your neighbor's melon
patch, don't tie your shoe.
Source: (Chinese) Be in readiness for favorable winds.
Source: (Chinese) Be just before you're generous.
Source: (Chinese) Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.
Source: (Chinese) Be not disturbed at being misunderstood; be disturbed at not
understanding.
Source: (Chinese) Be on a horse when you go in search of a better one.
Source: (Chinese) Be resolved and the thing is done.
Source: (Chinese) Beat your drum inside the house to spare the neighbors.
Source: (Chinese) Beat your gong and sell your candles.
Source: (Chinese) Because men do not like the cold, Heaven does not cause winter to
cease.
Source: (Chinese) Before you beat a dog, find out who its master is.
Source: (Chinese) Begin with an error of an inch and end by being a thousand miles off
the mark.
Source: (Chinese) Behind an able man there are always other able men.
Source: (Chinese) Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.
Source: (Chinese) Better a dinner of herbs than a stalled ox where hate is.
Source: (Chinese) Better a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred
therewith.
Source: (Chinese) Better be kind at home than burn incense in a far place.
Source: (Chinese)
Better be too credulous than too skeptical.
Source: (Chinese) Better die ten years early than live ten years poor.
Source: (Chinese) Better do a kindness near home than go far to burn incense.
Source: (Chinese) Better do it than wish it done.
Source: (Chinese) Better go than send.
Source: (Chinese) Better go to heaven in rags than to hell in embroidery.
Source: (Chinese) Better the cottage where one is merry than the palace where one
weeps.
Source: (Chinese) Better the devil you know than the devil you don't.
Source: (Chinese) Better to do a kindness near home than go far away to burn incense.
Source: (Chinese) Careless rat chewing on a cat's tail: beware lightning!
Source: (Chinese) Ceremony is the smoke of friendship.
Source: (Chinese) Cheap things are not good, good things are not cheap.
Source: (Chinese) Cheat the earth and the earth will cheat you.
Source: (Chinese) Clumsy birds have need of early flight.
Source: (Chinese) Conquerors are kings; the beaten are bandits.
Source: (Chinese) Corner a dog in a dead-end street and it will turn and bite.
Source: (Chinese) Corporations have neither bodies to be punished nor souls to be
damned.
Source: (Chinese) Count not what is lost but what is left.
Source: (Chinese) Covet wealth, and want it; don't, and luck will grant it.
Source: (Chinese) Covetous men's chests are rich, not they.
Source: (Chinese) Crows everywhere are equally black.
Source: (Chinese) Curse your wife at evening, sleep alone at night.
Source: (Chinese) Cursed cows have short horns.
Source: (Chinese) Customers are jade; merchandise is grass.
Source: (Chinese) Dangerous enemies will meet again in narrow streets.
Source: (Chinese) Dead songbirds make a sad meal.
Source: (Chinese) Deal with the faults of others as gently as with your own.
Source: (Chinese) Deer-hunter, waste not your arrow on the hare.
Source: (Chinese) Defeat isn't bitter if you don't swallow it.
Source: (Chinese) Defer not till to-morrow what may be done to-day.
Source: (Chinese) Despise learning and make everyone pay for your ignorance.
Source: (Chinese) Despise not a small wound or a poor kinsman.
Source: (Chinese) Deviate an inch, lose a thousand miles.
Source: (Chinese) Everyone rakes the fire under his own pot.
Source: (Chinese) Everyone should carefully observe which way his heart draws him,
and then choose that way with all his strength.
Source: (Chinese) Everyone speaks well of the bridge which carries him over.
Source: (Chinese) Everyone stretches his legs according to the length of his coverlet.
Source: (Chinese) Exaggeration is to paint a snake and add legs.
Source: (Chinese) Fail to steal the chicken while it ate up your bait grain.
Source: (Chinese) Failing to plan is planning to fail.
Source: (Chinese) Falling hurts least those who fly low.
Source: (Chinese) Far waters cannot quench near fires.
Source: (Chinese) Far-fetched and dear-bought is good for ladies.
Source: (Chinese) Farewell and be hanged; friends must part!
Source: (Chinese) Fight a wolf with a flex stalk.
Source: (Chinese) Fight fire with fire.
Source: (Chinese) Flowers leave a part of their fragrance in the hands that bestow them.
Source: (Chinese) Flowers leave some of their fragrance in the hand that bestows them.
Source: (Chinese) Flowing water never goes bad; our door hubs never gather termites.
Source: (Chinese) For the sake of one good action, a hundred evil ones should be
forgotten.
Source: (Chinese) Forethought is easy, repentance hard.
Source: (Chinese) Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.
Source: (Chinese) Forget the favors you have given; remember those received.
Source: (Chinese) Fortune and flowers do not last forever.
Source: (Chinese) Four horses cannot overtake the tongue.
Source: (Chinese) Four things come not back: the spoken word, the spent arrow, the past
life, and the neglected opportunity.
Source: (Chinese) Friend, do not try to borrow combs from shaven monks.
Source: (Chinese) From the lowly perspective of a dog's eyes, everyone looks short.
Source: (Chinese) Garden flowers larger, field flowers stronger.
Source: (Chinese) Garlands are not for every brow.
Source: (Chinese) Get the coffin ready and watch the man mend.
Source: (Chinese) Girls marry to please parents, widows to please themselves.
Source: (Chinese)
Girls will be girls.
Source: (Chinese) Give a beggar a bed and he'll repay you with a louse.
Source: (Chinese) Going beyond is as bad as falling short.
Source: (Chinese) Gold and silver are mingled with dirt, till avarice parted them.
Source: (Chinese) Gold has its price; learning is beyond price.
Source: (Chinese) Gold is tested by fire, man by gold.
Source: (Chinese) Good fortune may forebode bad luck, which may in turn disguise good
fortune.
Source: (Chinese) Govern a family as you would cook a small fish--very gently.
Source: (Chinese) Govern yourself and you can govern the world.
Source: (Chinese) Grass fears the frost, frost fears the sun.
Source: (Chinese) Great blessings come from heaven; small blessings come from man.
Source: (Chinese) Great boast, small roast.
Source: (Chinese) Great business is good; to sit and sip this glass is better.
Source: (Chinese) Great cry and little wool, as the fellow said when he sheared his hogs.
Source: (Chinese) Great souls have wills; feeble ones have only wishes.
Source: (Chinese) Habits are cobwebs at first, cables at last.
Source: (Chinese) Happiness is like a sunbeam, which the least shadow intercepts, while
adversity is often as the rain of spring.
Source: (Chinese) Happy people never count hours as they pass.
Source: (Chinese) Hatred corrodes the vessel in which it is stored.
Source: (Chinese) Have a mouth as sharp as a dagger, but a heart as soft as tofu.
Source: (Chinese) Have but few friends though much acquaintance.
Source: (Chinese) He comes with incense in one hand, in the other a spear.
Source: (Chinese) He has too many lice to feel an itch.
Source: (Chinese) He hath lived ill that knows not how to die well.
Source: (Chinese) He painted a tiger, but it turned out a dog.
Source: (Chinese) He that has no money might as well be buried in a rice tub with his
mouth sewn up.
Source: (Chinese) He that has no silver in his purse, should have silver on his tongue.
Source: (Chinese) He that has not bread to spare should not keep a dog.
Source: (Chinese) He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask
a question remains a fool forever.
Source: (Chinese) He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask
remains a fool forever.
Source: (Chinese) He who can predict winning numbers should not set off fire crackers.
Source: (Chinese) He who cannot agree with his enemies is controlled by them.
Source: (Chinese) He who carves the Buddha never worships him.
Source: (Chinese) He who could foresee affairs three days in advance would be rich for
thousands of years.
Source: (Chinese) He who hurries cannot walk with dignity.
Source: (Chinese) He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount.
Source: (Chinese) He who sacrifices his conscience to ambition burns a picture to obtain
the ashes.
Source: (Chinese) He who seeks revenge should remember to dig two graves.
Source: (Chinese) Hold back some goods for a thousand days and you will be sure to sell
at a profit.
Source: (Chinese) Honey in his mouth, knives in his heart.
Source: (Chinese) How can you expect to find ivory in a dog's mouth?
Source: (Chinese) How can you put out a fire set on a cart-load of firewood with only a
cup of water.
Source: (Chinese) I dreamed a thousand new paths. I woke and walked my old one.
Source: (Chinese) If a son is uneducated, his father is to blame.
Source: (Chinese) If a string has one end, then it has another end.
Source: (Chinese) If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing well.
Source: (Chinese) If an enemy is annoying you by playing well, consider adopting his
strategy.
Source: (Chinese) If heaven made him, earth can find some use for him.
Source: (Chinese) If his legs fail him, he fights on his knees.
Source: (Chinese) If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come.
Source: (Chinese)
Source: (Chinese) In the midst of great joy do not promise to give a man anything; in the
midst of great anger do not answer a man's letter.
Source: (Chinese) In the presence of princes the cleverest jester is mute.
Source: (Chinese) Insects do not nest in a busy door-hinge.
Source: (Chinese) It is better to be entirely without a book than to believe it entirely.
Source: (Chinese) It is easier to know how to do than it is to do.
Source: (Chinese) It is harder to be poor without complaining than to be rich without
boasting.
Source: (Chinese) It is not economical to go to bed early to save the candles if the result
is twins.
Source: (Chinese) It is the beautiful bird which gets caged.
Source: (Chinese) It takes little effort to watch a man carry a load.
Source: (Chinese) It's as difficult to be rich without bragging as it is to be poor without
complaining.
Source: (Chinese) It's your own lantern; don't poke holes in the paper.
Source: (Chinese) Jade and men, both are sharpened by bitter tools.
Source: (Chinese) Jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today.
Source: (Chinese) Judge not the horse by his saddle.
Source: (Chinese) Just as tall trees are known by their shadows, so are good men known
by their enemies.
Source: (Chinese) Just scales and full measure injure no man.
Source: (Chinese) Keep your broken arm inside your sleeve.
Source: (Chinese) Keep your chin up.
Source: (Chinese) Kill a chicken before a monkey.
Source: (Chinese) Kill one to warn a hundred.
Source: (Chinese)
Kill the chicken to frighten the monkey.
Source: (Chinese) Know thyself to know others, for heart beats like heart.
Source: (Chinese) Large demands on oneself and little demands on others keep
resentment at bay.
Source: (Chinese) Laws control the lesser man; right conduct controls the greater one.
Source: (Chinese) Learn to handle a writing-brush and you'll never handle a beggingbowl.
Source: (Chinese) Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.
Source: (Chinese) Learning is a weightless treasure you always carry easy.
Source: (Chinese) Learning is better than house and land.
Source: (Chinese) Learning is like rowing upstream: not to advance is to drop back.
Source: (Chinese) Learning is treasure no thief can touch.
Source: (Chinese) Learning is weightless, treasure you can always carry easily.
Source: (Chinese) Leave a bit of the tail to whisk off flies.
Source: (Chinese) Let him who does not know what war is go to war.
Source: (Chinese) Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the
friends whom we choose.
Source: (Chinese) Life isn't all beer and skittles.
Source: (Chinese) Listen to all, plucking a feather from every passing goose, but, follow
no one absolutely.
Source: (Chinese) Long roads test the horse, long dealings the friend.
Source: (Chinese) Look for a thing until you find it and you'll not lose your labor.
Source: (Chinese) Looking for fish? Don't climb a tree.
Source: (Chinese) Losing comes of winning money.
Source: (Chinese) Love is blind, and greed insatiable.
Source: (Chinese) Love is blind, friendship closes its eyes.
Source: (Chinese) Love is blind.
Source: (Chinese) Love is incompatible with fear.
Source: (Chinese) Make happy those who are near, and those who are far will come.
Source: (Chinese) Make sure you leave some fat for the other side.
Source: (Chinese) Mallet strikes chisel; chisel splits wood.
Source: (Chinese) Man cannot stir one inch without the push of heaven's finger.
Source: (Chinese) Man concocts a million schemes; god knows but one.
Source: (Chinese) Man fools himself. He prays for a long life and he fears old age.
Source: (Chinese) Man has a thousand plans, heaven but one.
Source: (Chinese) Man is heaven and earth in miniature.
Source: (Chinese) Man must be sharpened on man, like knife on stone.
Source: (Chinese) Mankind fears an evil man but heaven does not.
Source: (Chinese) Mankind scorns a virtuous man, but heaven does not.
Source: (Chinese) Manners maketh man.
Source: (Chinese) Many a good face is under a ragged hat.
Source: (Chinese) Many a little make a mickle.
Source: (Chinese) Many books do not use up words; many words do not use up thoughts.
Source: (Chinese) Married couples tell each other a thousand things without speech.
Source: (Chinese) Married couples who love each other tell each other a thousand things
without talking.
Source: (Chinese) Medicine can only cure curable disease, and then not always.
Source: (Chinese) Men fated to be happy need not haste.
Source: (Chinese) Men in the game are blind to what men looking on see clearly.
Source: (Chinese) Men know not all their faults, oxen all their strength.
Source: (Chinese) Misfortune is not that which can be avoided, but that which cannot.
Source: (Chinese) Nature is better than a middling doctor.
Source: (Chinese) Nature, time and patience are the three great physicians.
Source: (Chinese) Never answer a letter while you are angry.
Source: (Chinese) Never argue with a man who buys ink by the barrel.
Source: (Chinese)
Never do anything standing that you can do sitting, or anything sitting that you can do
lying down.
Source: (Chinese) Never try to catch two frogs with one hand.
Source: (Chinese) Never write a letter while you are angry.
Source: (Chinese) No matter how stout one beam, it cannot support a house.
Source: (Chinese) No matter how tall the mountain, it cannot block out the sun.
Source: (Chinese) Patience and the mulberry leaf become a silk robe.
Source: (Chinese) Patience is a bitter plant, but it has sweet fruit.
Source: (Chinese) Patience is a plaister for all sores.
Source: (Chinese) Patience is a virtue.
Source: (Chinese) Patience is power; with time and patience the mulberry becomes silk.
Source: (Chinese) Peace and tranquility are a thousand gold pieces.
Source: (Chinese) Pick your inn before the dark; get on your road before the dawn.
Source: (Chinese) Plan your year in the spring, your day at dawn.
Source: (Chinese) Plant the crab-tree where you will it will never bear pippins.
Source: (Chinese) Pleasures are shallow, sorrows deep.
Source: (Chinese)
Politeness wins the confidence of princes.
Source: (Chinese) Politics makes strange bedfellows.
Source: (Chinese) Practice no vice because it's trivial; neglect no virtue because it's so.
Source: (Chinese) Present to the eye, present to the mind.
Source: (Chinese) Priests return to the temple, merchants to the shop.
Source: (Chinese) Pure gold does not fear the smelter.
Source: (Chinese) Raise your sail one foot and you get ten feet of wind.
Source: (Chinese) Rare commodities are worth more than good.
Source: (Chinese) Rather once cry your heart out than always sigh.
Source: (Chinese) Rats know the way of rats.
Source: (Chinese) Reform a gambler . . . cure leprosy.
Source: (Chinese) Rein in the horse at the edge of the cliff.
Source: (Chinese) Reshape one's foot to try to fit into a new shoe.
Source: (Chinese) Rich men accumulate money; the poor accumulate years.
Source: (Chinese) Rich not gaudy.
Source: (Chinese) Riches add to the house, virtues to the man.
Source: (Chinese) Riches: a dream in the night; fame: a gull floating on water.
Source: (Chinese) Rivers and mountains may change; human nature, never.
Source: (Chinese) Rotten wood cannot be carved.
Source: (Chinese) Rule the roost.
Source: (Chinese) Runaway son, a shining jewel; runaway daughter, tarnished.
Source: (Chinese) Scholars talk books, butchers talk pigs.
Source: (Chinese) Schoolmaster, stick to your books; farmer, to your pigs.
Source: (Chinese) Seeking fish? Don't dive in the pond; go home and get a net.
Source: (Chinese) Sending charcoal in the snow is better than adding flowers to a
brocade.
Source: (Chinese) Silly toad: planning a meal of goose!
Source: (Chinese) Sit atop the mountain and watch the tigers fight.
Source: (Chinese) Slander cannot destroy an honest man: when the flood recedes the rock
is there.
Source: (Chinese) Slow in word, swift in deed.
Source: (Chinese) Sma' winnings mak a heavy purse.
Source: (Chinese) Small ills are the fountains of most of our groans. Men trip not on
Source: (Chinese) The fire you kindle for your enemy often burns yourself more than
him.
Source: (Chinese) The first half of the night, think of your own faults; the second half, the
faults of others.
Source: (Chinese) The first hen that cackles is the one that laid the egg.
Source: (Chinese) The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected
without trials.
Source: (Chinese) The great question is not whether you have failed, but whether you are
content with failure.
Source: (Chinese) The happiness in your pocket, don't spend it all.
Source: (Chinese) The harder you fall, the higher you bounce.
Source: (Chinese) The hardest step is over the threshold.
Source: (Chinese) The house with an old grandparent harbors a jewel.
Source: (Chinese) The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
Source: (Chinese) The less power a man has, the more he likes to use it.
Source: (Chinese) The loftiest towers rise from the ground.
Source: (Chinese) The lone sheep is in danger of the wolf.
Source: (Chinese) The longer the night lasts, the more our dreams will be.
Source: (Chinese) The man who comes with a talk about others has himself an ax to
grind.
Source: (Chinese) The man who does not learn is dark, like one walking in the night.
Source: (Chinese) The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small
stones.
Source: (Chinese) The man who strikes first admits that his ideas have given out.
Source: (Chinese) The man who wakes up and finds himself famous hasn't been asleep.
Source: (Chinese) The man will surely fail, who dares delay, And lose to-morrow that has
lost to-day.
Source: (Chinese) The mind is the emperor of the body.
Source: (Chinese) The net of heaven is large and wide, but it lets nothing through.
Source: (Chinese) The older the ginger, the more it bites.
Source: (Chinese) The one who first resorts to violence shows that he has no more
arguments.
Source: (Chinese) The one who plants the tree is not the one who will enjoy its shade.
Source: (Chinese) The one who understands does not speak, the one who speaks does not
understand.
Source: (Chinese) The palest ink is better than the best memory.
Source: (Chinese) The path of duty lies in what is near at hand, but men seek for it in
what is remote.
Source: (Chinese) The pen can kill a man; no knife is needed.
Source: (Chinese) The pen of the tongue should be dipped in the ink of the heart.
Source: (Chinese) The peony is beautiful, yet it is supported by a stalk.
Source: (Chinese) The pine stays green in winter, wisdom in hardship.
Source: (Chinese) The pitcher doth not go so often to the well, but it comes home broken
at last.
Source: (Chinese) The remedy for dirt is soap and water. The remedy for dying is living.
catch a fish.
Source: (Chinese) To understand your parents' love bear your own children.
Source: (Chinese) To violate the law is the same crime in the emperor as in the subject.
Source: (Chinese) Transgressions should never be forgiven a third time.
Source: (Chinese) Two barrels of tears will not heal a bruise.
Source: (Chinese) Two good talkers are not worth one good listener.
Source: (Chinese) Unplowed fields make hollow bellies; unread books make hollow
minds.
Source: (Chinese) Use power to curb power.
Source: (Chinese) Vicious as a tigress can be, she never eats her own cubs.
Source: (Chinese) Victory has hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan.
Source: (Chinese) Virtue becomes a wife; beauty becomes a concubine.
Source: (Chinese) Virtue is not left to stand alone.
Source: (Chinese) Virtue never dwells alone, it always has neighbors.
Source: (Chinese) Virtue practiced to be seen is not real virtue; vice which fears to be
seen is real vice.
Source: (Chinese) Virtue: climbing a hill; vice: running down.
Source: (Chinese) Virtuous for ten years is still not enough; evil for one day is too much
already.
Source: (Chinese) Wait long, strike fast.
Source: (Chinese) Waiting for a rabbit to hit upon a tree and be killed in order to catch it.
Source: (Chinese) Want a thing long enough, and you don't.
Source: (Chinese) Water and words are easy to pour but impossible to recover.
Source: (Chinese)
Water that has reached its level does not flow.
Source: (Chinese) We all like lamb; each has a different way of cooking it.
Source: (Chinese) We are not so much concerned if you are slow as when you come to a
halt.
Source: (Chinese) We can study until old age and still not finish.
Source: (Chinese) We forget even incense in easy times; come hard times, we embrace
the Buddha's feet.
Source: (Chinese) Wealth is but dung, useful only when spread.
Source: (Chinese) Weaving a net is better than praying for fish at the edge of the water.
Source: (Chinese) Wedlock is a padlock.
Source: (Chinese) What is whispered in your ear is often heard a hundred miles off.
Source: (Chinese) What you cannot avoid, welcome.
Source: (Chinese) When a large vessel has opened a way it is easy for a small one to
follow.
Source: (Chinese) When eating bamboo sprouts, remember the man who planted them.
Source: (Chinese) When the cat is gone, the mice come out to stretch.
Source: (Chinese) When the mantis hunts the locust, he forgets the shrike that's hunting
him.
Source: (Chinese) When the tree dies, the grass underneath withers.
Source: (Chinese) When the tree falls, the shadow flies.
Chinatown - Melbourne
Fortune has a fickle heart and a short memory.
Harsh words and poor reasoning never settle anything.
Dangerous enemies will meet again in narrow streets.
Better to bend in the wind than to break.
Do not kill the hen for her eggs.
First attain skill; creativity comes later.
Make the cap fit the head.
A single beam cannot support a great house.
Do not be concerned with things outside your door.
Wise men may not be learned; learned men may not be wise.
Beat your child once a day. If you don't know why, he does.
Make happy those who are near, and those who are far will come.
If heaven made him, earth can find some use for him.
Married couples who love each other tell each other a thousand things without talking.
With time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown.
When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one. and a lily with the other.
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
A bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives you roses.
Make happy those who are near, and those who are far will come.
Man's heart is never satisfied; the snake would swallow the elephant.
Blame yourself if you have no branches or leaves; don't accuse the sun of partiality.
If a man plants melons he will reap melons; if he sows beans, he will reap beans.
The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.
If Heaven made him, earth can find some use for him.
One cannot manage too many affairs: like pumpkins in the water, one pops up while you try to hold down the
other.
The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.
Words are mere bubbles of water, but deeds are drops of gold.
He who deliberates fully before taking a step will spend his entire life on one leg.
A bird can roost but on one branch. A mouse can drink no more than its fill from a river.
The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.
Make happy those who are near, and those who are far will come.
1 Mandarin proverbs
The following proverbs are sorted alphabetically by their pinyin. If you know the literary
source, please add it! Also add other pronunciations if you know them.
(pinyin: bing1 feng1 san3 chi3, jue2 fei1 yi2 ri4 zhi1
han2)
Literally: Three feetA foot is a non- SI unit of distance or length. The
popular belief is that original standard was the length of a man's foot. The
average foot length is about 240 mm (9. 4 in) for current Europeans.
About 996 of 1000 British men have a foot that is less th of iceIce is the
solid form of water. The phase transition occurs when liquid water is
cooled below 0 C (273. 15 K, 32 F) at standard atmospheric pressure.
Ice can be formed at higher temperatures in pressurized environments, and
water will remain a liquid or does not result from one day of cold
weatherWeather comprises all the various phenomena that occur in the
atmosphere of a planet. On Earth the regular events include wind, storms,
rain, and snow, which occur in the troposphere or the lower part of the
atmosphere. Weather is driven by energy from th.
Moral: Trouble, for example, in a relationship, indicates a long history of
problems.
li: a Chinese unit of linear measure which corresponds to about a half kilometer
(pinyin: lu4 yao2 zhi1 ma3 li4, ri4 jiu3 jian4 ren2
xin1)
Literary Source: From Song dynasty -
Literally: Over a long distance, you learn about the strength of your horse;
over a long time, you learn about the true character of your friend.
Usage: This can be used positively to praise a true friend; or negatively to
criticize friends that could not stand a test.
; (pinyin: rou4 bao1 zi da3 gou3, yi2 qu4 bu4 hui2 tou2)
Literally: hit a dog with a meat bun, it does not return.
Interpretation: the dog is driven away, but the bun is also gone.
Moral: don't act rashly to preserve what you have, you lose some of it
anyway
Usage: when something is loaned away and one doesn't expect to get it
back, or something is given in some exchange, but nothing is expected in
return.
(pinyin: shi4 shang4 you3 nan2 shi4 zhi3 pa4 you3
xing1 ren2)
Literally: On this world there exists no such impossible tasks, they fear
only those with perseverance.
Moral: No task in this world is impossible so long as there are willing
hearts.
2 Cantonese proverbs
sorted alphabetically by the penkyamp, a Cantonese Romanization.
(penkyamp: How2 samp1 mow5 how2 bow3, how2
cai4 siu1 lan6 zow3)
Meaning: Good deeds may not be rewarded; even good firewood may ruin
the stove.
Note: 'reward' and 'stove' rhyme in Cantonese.
Note: is used only in Cantonese and corresponds with Mandarin
(without).
(penkyamp: Nenk4 gau3 yant4 fant1 cay1, mog6
gau3 yant4 da2 zay2)
Literally: It is okay to teach someone how to discipline a child, but don't
teach how to divorce one's wife.
Note: 'child' and 'wife' rhyme in Cantonese
(penkyamp: Cay1 yin4 fu1 wo6 siu2, sont2 yaw2
gaw2 bat1 yeu4)
Literally: With a good wife, the husband won't get in trouble; a bad friend
is worse than a dog.
(penkyamp: Cin1 gamp1 nan4 mai5 samp1 taw4 how2)
Literally: A thousand pieces of gold may not buy you what you like.
Moral: Money isn't everything.
(penkyamp: Si6 gap1 ma5 hang4 tin4)
Literally: In case of emergency, the horse () can move in the field ().
Explanation: This is in reference to the rules in Chinese Chess. Normally
the horse piece can only move in the 'sun' character ( or a 12 rectangle)
pattern.
Moral: In an emergency, one can break the rules.
3 Hakka proverbs
The Hakka proverbs are sorted by the number of strokes (few to many). Please add
Hakka pronunciations
Initial source: (Hakka Proverbs)
Literally: When the thunder rumbles once, all the world under heaven
immediately knows.
Moral: When one acts, s/he shouldn't expect that it will be kept a secret
forever.
Literally: Poor man sings folk songs.
Moral: Poverty does not mean an absolute lack of joy.
Literally: Provide the offspring with bodies, but not the hearts.
Moral: Even though one is born of parents, his/her thoughts are his/her
own, not of the parents. Parents can only influence their children to a
certain extent.
Literally: You have the first day of the month, I the fifteenth.
Moral: Everyone has their own talent that will be useful one day or
another.
comment: (Similar to the English proverb of "Every dog has his day".)
comment: Similar to (Everyone gets) 15 minutes of Fame ( Andy Warhol).
Literally: When chopping the bones, there isn't even a circle (?).
Usage: There is not one bit of substance.
Literally: The medicine from a recipe that has been copied three times
(one after another) can kill people.
Moral: Excessive enthusiasm can be counterproductive despite its good
intention.
Moral: The content of something can be greatly changed when it is
imperfectly transferred repeatedly. Don't tell rumors. (see Chinese
whisper)
Literally: Broken drums can save moons as well.
Moral: Even the aged people and objects have purposes.
Literally: Poor men don't stop feeding the pigs, rich men don't stop
studying.
Usage: don't drop the skill and means that can keep your livelihood.
Usage: With family, one can accomplish even the most difficult task.
Note: Heroes defeating ferocious tigers that eat livestock and even human
beings is the theme to various Chinese literature, such as The Water
Margin.