Chinese proverbs, quotes, and sayings about love and life

Our collection of wise Chinese sayings about love and life are still as powerful today as they were in ancient times.

If you’re looking for words of encouragement to help keep you on your path, these Chinese proverbs are exactly what you didn’t know you needed.

Chinese proverbs can be taken from literary works, social expressions, as well as sayings from both famous people and common folk.

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According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world, with over 1 billion speakers.

This makes Chinese proverbs and quotes a valuable resource for cross-cultural communication and understanding.

It can be difficult to translate them, as most can seem funny or nonsensical at first (e.g. “The friendship of a gentleman is insipid as water.”).

But once you understand their true meaning, they can convey plenty of truth and wisdom.

We hope these Chinese proverbs and quotes help motivate you through some of life’s most demanding times.

Don’t forget to also check out these Rumi quotes that will expand your mind in ways you never knew.

If you love this quote collection, read out our most popular quote article about short inspirational quotes for daily motivation. 

If you need more inspirational quotes, check out our motivational quotes category page.

Great Chinese proverbs about life and patience

A study by the University of Southern California found that bilingualism, particularly in Mandarin Chinese and English, can have cognitive benefits, including improved executive function and attentional control.

This means that reading and understanding Chinese proverbs and quotes in their original language may offer additional cognitive benefits beyond their wisdom content.

1. “To believe in one’s dreams is to spend all of one’s life asleep.” – Chinese Proverb

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2. “He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.” – Chinese Proverb

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3. “If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.” – Chinese Proverb

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4. “If your strength is small, don’t carry heavy burdens. If your words are worthless, don’t give advice.” – Chinese Proverb

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5. “If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.” – Chinese Proverb

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6. “Man’s schemes are inferior to those made by heaven.” – Chinese Proverb

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7. “A wise man makes his own decisions; an ignorant man follows the public opinion.” – Chinese Proverb

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8. “Parents who are afraid to put their foot down usually have children who step on their toes.” – Chinese Proverb

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9. “A diamond with a flaw is better than a common stone that is perfect.” – Chinese Proverb

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10. “If you must play, decide upon three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time.” – Chinese Proverb

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Inspiring Chinese proverbs on learning and education

A study by the University of California, Riverside found that exposure to Chinese culture, including its proverbs and traditional beliefs, can improve cognitive flexibility and creativity.

This is because Chinese culture places a high value on metaphorical thinking and the use of analogies to convey complex ideas.

11. “A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.” – Chinese Proverb

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12. “A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers.” – Chinese Proverb

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13. “A book holds a house of gold.” – Chinese Proverb

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14. “A book is like a garden carried in the pocket.” – Chinese Proverb

15. “A child’s life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark.” – Chinese Proverb

16. “A filthy mouth will not utter decent language.” – Chinese Proverb

17. “A fool judges people by the presents they give him.” – Chinese Proverb

18. “A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man perfected without trials.” – Chinese Proverb

19. “A nation’s treasure is in its scholars.” – Chinese Proverb

20. “Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.” – Chinese Proverb

You might also like these wise Native American quotes on community, respect, and more.

Chinese proverbs about friendship

21. “A man should choose a friend who is better than himself. There are plenty of acquaintances in the world; but very few real friends.” – Chinese Proverb

22. “If you want happiness for an hour – take a nap. If you want happiness for a day – go fishing. If you want happiness for a month – get married. If you want happiness for a year – inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime – help someone else.” – Chinese Proverb

23. “Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time.” – Chinese Proverb

24. “Pearls don’t lie on the seashore. If you want one, you must dive for it.” – Chinese Proverb

25. “Teachers open the door but you must walk through it yourself.” – Chinese Proverb

26. “The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” – Chinese Proverb

27. “With true friends…even water drunk together is sweet enough.” – Chinese Proverb

28. “If you stand straight, do not fear a crooked shadow.” – Chinese Proverb

29. “Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.” – Chinese Proverb

30. “Insanity is doing the same thing in the same way and expecting a different outcome.” – Chinese Proverb

Famous Chinese proverbs about love

31. “Love is not about possession, it’s all about appreciation.” – Chinese Proverb

32. “After you’ is good manners.” – Chinese Proverb

33. “A friend to everybody is a friend to nobody. – Chinese Proverb

34. “Love at first sight. It’s generally used for people, but you can also use it for other physical objects.” – Chinese Proverb               

35. “Coming events cast their shadows before them.” – Chinese Proverb

36. “All things are difficult before they are easy.” – Chinese Proverb

37. “A straight foot is not afraid of a crooked shoe.” – Chinese Proverb

38. “A good book is a good friend.” – Chinese Proverb

39. “Time is money, and it is difficult for one to use money to get time.” – Chinese Proverb

40. “Opportunity knocks at the door only once.” – Chinese Proverb

Inspirational Chinese proverbs that will make you think

41. “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.” – Chinese Proverb

42. “To forget one’s ancestors is to be a brook without a source, a tree without root.” – Chinese Proverb

43. “Make happy those who are near, and those who are far will come.” – Chinese Proverb

44. “Outside noisy, inside empty.” – Chinese Proverb

45. “To talk much and arrive nowhere is the same as climbing a tree to catch a fish.” – Chinese Proverb

46. “One generation plants the trees, and another gets the shade.” – Chinese Proverb

47. “There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same.” – Chinese Proverb

48. “He who depends on himself will attain the greatest happiness.” – Chinese Proverb

49. “If you don’t want anyone to know it, don’t do it.” – Chinese Proverb

50. “Be not disturbed at being misunderstood; be disturbed rather at not being understanding.” – Chinese Proverb

Wise Chinese proverbs

51. “A little impatience will spoil great plans.”  – Chinese Proverb

52. “Talk does not cook rice.”  – Chinese Proverb

53. “A man who cannot tolerate small misfortunes can never accomplish great things.” – Chinese Proverb

54. “Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” – Chinese Proverb

55. “If you want to find out about the road ahead, then ask about it from those coming back.” – Chinese Proverb

56. “One meal won’t make a fat man.” – Chinese Proverb

57. “Clothing is cherishable when new, but relationship when old.” – Chinese Proverb

58. “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.” – Chinese Proverb

59. “Opportunity knocks at the door only once.” – Chinese Proverb

60. “Do not choose the one you don’t trust and trust the one you chose.” – Chinese Proverb

Other wise Chinese proverbs to inspire and teach

61. “All things change, and we change with them.” – Chinese Proverb

62. “There are two kinds of perfect people: those who are dead, and those who have not been born yet.” – Chinese Proverb

63. “He who cheats the earth will be cheated by the earth.” – Chinese Proverb

64. “A single conversation with a wise man is worth a month’s study of books.”- Chinese Proverb

65. “He who thinks too much about every step he takes will always stay on one leg.” – Chinese Proverb

66. “Listening well is as powerful as talking well, and is also as essential to true conversation.” – Chinese Proverb

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67. “Genius can be recognized by its childish simplicity.” – Chinese Proverb

68. “Even a hare will bite when it is cornered.” – Chinese Proverb

69. “Your teacher can open the door, but you must enter by yourself.”- Chinese Proverb

70. “Distant water does not put out a nearby fire.” – Chinese Proverb

71. “A closed mind is like a closed book; just a block of wood.” – Chinese Proverb

72. “Distance tests a horse’s strength. Time reveals a person’s character.” – Chinese Proverb

73. “Better the cottage where one is merry than the palace where one weeps.” – Chinese Proverb

74. “Do not afraid of moving slowly. Be afraid of standing still.”- Chinese Proverb

75. “The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.”- Chinese Proverb

More Chinese proverbs

76. “Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” – Chinese Proverb

77. “When the wind of change blows, some people build walls, others build windmills.” – Chinese Proverb

78. “He who is afraid of suffering is already suffering fear. Out of fear, true creativity is blocked.” – Chinese Proverb

79. “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. But if you give him a fishing rod, you feed him for a lifetime.” – Chinese Proverb

80. “At the gambling table, there are no fathers and sons.” – Chinese Proverb

81. “Keep a green tree alive in your heart, and a songbird may come to sing there.” – Chinese Proverb

82. “To use violence is to already be defeated.” – Chinese Proverb

83. “If you are in the business of revenge, then you better dig two graves.” – Chinese Proverb

84. “If Heaven made him – earth can find use for him.” – Chinese Proverb

85. “If you want to know what water is don’t ask the fish.” – Chinese proverb

Chinese proverbs to motivate you

86. “A little fragrance always clings to the hand that gives the roses.” – Chinese proverb

87. “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese proverb   

88. “A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.” – Chinese proverb   

89. “Dig the well before you are thirsty.” – Chinese proverb   

90. “Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the people doing it.” – Chinese proverb  

91. “Habits are cobwebs at first; chains at last.” – Chinese proverb  

92. “To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at time, but we must keep stepping.” – Chinese proverb

93. “I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I write and I understand.” – Chinese proverb   

94. “Don’t fear moving slowly. Fear standing still.” – Chinese proverb   

95. “One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life.” – Chinese proverb

More Chinese proverb quotes to help you live life

96. “Facts beat eloquence.” — Chinese Proverbs

97. “Repay good with good.” — Chinese Proverbs

98. “Good medicine tastes bitter.”  — Chinese Proverbs

99. “Two benefits from one action.” — Chinese Proverbs

100. “Replace weapons with jade and silk.” — Chinese Proverbs

101. “Food is the first priority of the people.” — Chinese Proverbs

102. “When adversity comes, receive it favorably.” — Chinese Proverbs

103. “Small as it is, the sparrow has all the vital organs.” — Chinese Proverbs 

104. “A person leaves a reputation, as a swallow leaves its call.” — Chinese Proverbs

105. “Ten years to cultivate wood, a hundred years to cultivate a man.” — Chinese Proverbs

Chinese Proverbs Quotes To Fill You With Wisdom

106. “He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.” ― Chinese Proverb

107. “The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle.” ― Chinese Proverb

108. “If you always give, you will always have.” ― Chinese Proverb

109. “He who returns from a journey is not the same as he who left.” ― Chinese Proverb

110. “Don’t listen to what they say. Go see.” ― Chinese Proverb

111. “True knowledge is when one knows the limitations of one’s knowledge.” ― Chinese Proverb

112. “We count our miseries carefully, and accept our blessings without much thought.” ― Chinese Proverb

113. “Control your emotions or they will control you.” ― Chinese Proverb

114. “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” ― Chinese Proverb

115. “Your teacher can open the door but you must enter by yourself.” ― Chinese Proverb

Funny Chinese Proverbs Quotes

116. “Learning is a weightless treasure you can always carry easily.” — Chinese Proverb

117. “Do everything at the right time, and one day will seem like three.” — Chinese Proverb

118. “Solve one problem, and you keep a hundred others away.” — Chinese Proverb

119. “It is easy to open a store – the hard part is keeping it open.” — Chinese Proverb

120. “To be totally at leisure for one day is to be immortal for one day.” — Chinese Proverb

121. “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” — Chinese Proverb

122. “Before preparing to improve the world, first look around your own home three times.” — Chinese Proverb

123. “I was angered, for I had no shoes. Then I met a man who had no feet.” — Chinese Proverb

124. “Married couples tell each other a thousand things without speech.” — Chinese Proverb

125. “If you want to avoid being cheated, ask for prices at three different stores.” — Chinese Proverb

Did you enjoy these wise Chinese proverbs?

Just because cultures vary, doesn’t mean we can’t learn from one another.

The Chinese have centuries of wisdom gleaned from greats, such as Confucius and Sun Yat-sen.

They also have an interesting take on things – and it is this difference in perspective that makes discovering these Chinese proverbs all the more fascinating.

If you liked them, don’t forget to share on social media!