10 Timeless Chinese Proverbs and Idioms
Familiar philosophical tidbits are prevalent all over the world, often underlining a culture’s values, traditions, and beliefs. In Chinese culture, proverbs (or yànyǔ) are short sayings that distill life’s fundamental truths into pieces of sage advice, while idioms (chéngyŭ) are colloquial phrases whose words aren’t necessarily used literally, but rather work together to communicate an idea.
These traditional sayings have guided Chinese culture throughout the centuries. Often, they can offer a whole world of wisdom in just a few words, and their poised, morally uplifting sentiments have permeated borders to become fixtures in Western culture as well.
Many of the idioms we still use to this day come from famous Chinese philosophers and writers throughout history (such as Confucius); many more still originated with everyday people and the culture’s rich tradition of storytelling. These timeless maxims offer a glimpse into traditional Chinese society, and continue to help guide the moral and practical aspects of modern-day life.
The closest English sentiment to this proverb would be the all-familiar “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Every failure is a chance to try again, this time with new knowledge and experience. Eventually, success will come.
A lengthier translation of this saying would be “Love the house with its crows on the roof.” In ancient Chinese culture, crows were synonymous with bad luck, but this proverb espoused the wisdom of embracing the good with the bad.
This straightforward proverb is a good reminder that it can be difficult to start something new — whether it be a new job, learning a new skill, or making a new friend — but that is no reason not to do it. The unsaid second half seems to suggest that if we stick with the hard part, it will get easier.
This is the ancient Chinese version of “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” In other words, don’t give up or get discouraged if something is taking a long time to accomplish. The hard work will pay off.
No pain, no gain — that’s the closest English approximation for this Chinese proverb. It encourages us to push through challenges instead of giving up; otherwise we cannot move forward.
The English version is “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” They both encourage being content with what we have, rather than chasing more and risk losing what we already possess.
A popular interpretation of this proverb reads, “Teachers open the door, but you must walk through it yourself.” It’s a beautiful sentiment that means, once we have been given skills and taught morals, it’s up to us to go out and do, see, and experience things for ourselves.
For some things, you can never be too prepared. This proverb is a good reminder that certain things (like rainy days) require planning ahead to avoid damage or disruption.
This well-known proverb encourages us to put aside any fear we might have of asking questions — whether we’re afraid it’s a silly question, or one we should already know the answer to — or else risk never getting the knowledge we need.
This particular Chinese proverb is about learning from our mistakes. It’s sometimes seen in English as “A fall in a pit, a gain in your wit.” Missteps, while not ideal, are important teaching tools. 
