There are many interesting Chinese sayings that can teach you about life! Here are some of my favorites:
小洞不补，大洞吃苦。
Literal translation: If small holes aren’t mended, big holes will eat the hardship.
Meaning: If a trivial or small problem isn’t fixed early, it could become worse later on.
读万卷书不如行万里路。
Literal translation: Reading 10,000 books is not as good as walking 10000 kilometers of road.
Meaning: Experience and hardship beat theory and study.
三个和尚没水喝。
Literal translation: Three monks have no water to drink.
Meaning: Too many cooks spoil the broth. If too many people are involved in a task, it will not be done well.
笑一笑,十年少。
Literal translation: Laugh a bit, ten years younger.
Meaning: Happiness is the best way to make yourself look better.
大处着眼，小处着手。
Literal translation: Big points apply eye, small points apply hand.
Meaning: Keep the general goal and overall situation in sight while doing small tasks.
千军易得, 一将难求。
Literal translation: Thousand-person army is easily obtained; one general is a hard request.
Meaning: It is easy to find a thousand soldiers, but hard to find a good general. This teaches us the rareness yet the importance of good leadership.
I hope these sayings have helped you in your daily life! What are your thoughts? Leave them in the comments below.
https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/learning-chinese/chinese-sayings.htm
I found this article really interesting as it taught me a couple of new phrases! I’ll be sure to try to incorporate these into my Chinese speaking to advance my skill set. My favorite saying is 读万卷书不如行万里路. since it is very true. You need to experience the hardships and bumpy roads to be sucessful. Only studying won’t be enough. This happens in school when you study for a test and do bad, but it is just telling you to do better next time. Thanks for this amazing article.
Great article! I have heard of some phrases you included in this article. I never heard of the other ones you included, so I learned a lot from reading your article. The meanings of the phrases are also inspirational and true. Thank you for writing this!