70 Chinese proverbs about wisdom, love, life and work.

Popular sayings loaded with meaning of life that come to us from the Chinese nation.

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

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

Short Chinese proverbs

Without further ado, let's take a look at some of the best known Chinese proverbs and their meanings..

1. People do their hair every day, why not their hearts?

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; weak souls have only desires.

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

3. You cannot prevent the bird of sadness from flying over your head, but you can prevent it from nesting in your scalp.

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 fear.

Phobophobia was already contemplated by ancient oriental generations.

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

The personality of some individuals is truly complicated 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 door closed is the one that can be left open.

When nothing is feared, there is no room for worry.

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

A phrase to guard against enemies who pretend to be 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 go to the sea, but the sea does not overflow.

Another phrase for free interpretation.

 

13. A perro colimbo, sartenazo en los hocicos.

A rather crude phrase that will not please animal lovers.

14. There is no delicacy that does not cloy, nor vice that does not anger.

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

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

Having read thousands of books does not 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 sweetness can be a double-edged sword...

18. Love is not begged, it is deserved.

Clearer than water.

Chinese proverbs on wisdom

Let's continue with more proverbs, this time focused on wisdom and knowledge..

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

Always start at the bottom.

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

Without a leader, no project can succeed.

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 motionless dragon in deep water becomes prey to 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 good for himself.

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

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 reputation for being insatiable workers and thrifty, the Chinese have also written rivers of ink about love.. 

Below we will enjoy several traditional phrases that refer to this praiseworthy sentiment.

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

Constant effort has its fruits, even if they take time to arrive.

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

Whatever you can do when you are young, do not leave it for the future!

28. Such and such, Pascuala with Pascual.

The members of each couple are often very similar to each other.

29. A momentary mistake becomes an entire regret.

A miscalculation can leave us touched for a long time.

30. Not seeing what is important because our sight is obstructed by the trivial.

A phrase analogous to the Spanish: "Ver la paja en el ojo ajeno" (see the speck in someone else's eye).

31. A scalded cat runs away from cold water.

Bad experiences help us to be forewarned for the future.

32. Spring is the key season of the year.

Why is it that spring marks us so much?

Poorer than rats; having nowhere to drop dead.

Proverbs 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 amazing efforts into every working day. Whether it is a cliché or not, many of their proverbs abound in this issue: work, work, work, work, work..

34. The work of thinking is like drilling a well: the water is murky at first, but then it becomes clearer.

A metaphor for understanding how we arrive at accurate conclusions.

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

Another phrase that can be interpreted in different ways.

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

Hardness is only an appearance. It is the adaptable people who survive in any circumstance.

37. Beautiful roads do not lead far.

Normally, roads are narrow. Flat roads usually lead to mediocre destinations.

38. To die without perishing is eternal presence.

We all leave an indelible trace.

39. Nothing suits the body better than the growth of the spirit.

Personal growth helps us to be better day after day.

40. He who gives way widens the way.

Kindness has a global reward.

41. Whoever treads lightly goes far.

Without making much noise and with perseverance, one goes much farther and with fewer obstacles.

42. If you make plans for one year, plant rice. If you make them for two lustrums, plant trees. If you make them for a lifetime, 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: don't live off others, learn to generate your own resources.

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

Taking the teachings of Heraclitus to the extreme.

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

Whoever has a person close to him as a friend, has a true treasure.

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

A reflection on innocence.

47. Beautiful roads do not lead far.

It is necessary to leave 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 tendency.

50. Never kill a fly on the head of a tiger.

The indirect consequences of what we do can be unforeseeable.

51. For those who do not know where they want to go, all roads are good.

Uncertainty makes us make hasty decisions.

52. He who has tied a knot must untie it.

A phrase about responsibility.

53. A snowflake never falls in the wrong place.

Chance is created by chance.

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

To put order in one's life is necessary to be happy.

55. Defeat the enemy without staining the sword.

The psychological fight is the most important.

56. Do not fear to be slow, fear only to stop.

Permanent standstills are like a trap.

57. Do not promise anything when you feel euphoric.

The emotional can become too biased.

58. From the blackest clouds falls a water 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 changes 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 woods.

Don't anticipate the best-case 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.

The 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 make us stronger.

66. Water that is too pure has no fish.

Perfection has no nuances.

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

Talents must be worked to make them shine.

68. He who studies ten years in obscurity will be universally known as he wishes.

Effort brings excellence.

69. To win a trial is to acquire a hen and lose a cow.

A mockery of the mechanisms of justice.

70. Wisdom consists in knowing that you know what you know and knowing that you don't know what you don't know.

An aphorism about wisdom.

I hope you liked the compilation of Chinese proverbs. I wanted to highlight the main characteristics of the different thinkers such as Confucius, so if you think you can contribute any proverb that is not in the list, I am open to it..

In any case, I hope you like them and share them, best regards!