120+ Famous Chinese Sayings and Proverbs

Here's a great collection of Chinese sayings and proverbs with Chinese characters, pinyin pronunciation, and English translations and explanations, to help you learn and enjoy the Chinese language while understanding Chinese people's attitudes, life, and values more deeply.
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Chinese Proverbs About Life (30 Sayings)
Proverbs are eloquent and tell the naked truth in a quick turn of phrase, and so make excellent literary devices. Here are 30 literary quotes most frequently used in Chinese daily life.
1. 事实胜于雄辩。 (Shìshí shèng yú xióngbiàn)
— Facts beat eloquence.
From Lu Xun's "Hot Wind" (鲁迅《热风题记》), it's like, "Actions speak louder than words."
2. 一言既出，驷马难追。(Yìyán jì chū, sìmǎ nán zhuī / 'a word already produced, team-of-4-horses difficult chase')
— A team of horses will struggle to chase down a spoken word.
From "The Analects of Yan Yuan" (《论语·颜渊》), it means a word spoken can never be taken back, or a promise must be kept.
3. 路遥知马力，日久见人心。(Lùyáo zhī mǎlì, rìjiǔ jiàn rénxīn / 'road distant know horse strength, days old see man heart')
— As distance tests a horse's strength, time reveals a person's character.
From the anonymous work "Fight Gratitude" (《争报恩》) of the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368), when Mongol horsemen ruled China, this saying tells us that a long period of testing is needed to understand someone's nature and capabilities.
4. 无规矩不成方圆。(Wú guīju bù chéng fāngyuán / 'no standards not become perimeter')
— Without standards, no boundaries are set.
From the works of Mencius and his students (《孟子·离娄上》), it means: nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards; or: without rules, we're nothing but savages.
5. 惩前毖后。 (Chéngqiánbìhòu / 'punish before prevent after')
— Punishing those who come before stops those who come after from doing something.
From "Sacrificial Odes of Zhou" (《周颂》) in the Confucian classic "Book of Songs" (《诗经》), it means: to criticize former mistakes firmly to prevent them happening again; or: learn from past mistakes to avoid future ones.
6. 三思而后行。 (Sānsī ér hòu xíng / "three thoughts and after act")
— Think thrice before you act.
From "The Analects" (《论语》), it's like: "Look before you leap."
7. 良药苦口。 (Liángyào kǔ kǒu / 'good medicine bitter mouth')
— Good medicine tastes bitter.
It means: frank criticism is hard to swallow.
8. 有理走遍天下，无理寸步难行。(Yǒulǐ zǒubiàn tiānxià, wúlǐ cùnbù nánxíng / 'have truth walk all land-under-heaven; no truth cun [Chinese inch; 1/30 m] step difficult walk')
— With truth on your side, you can go anywhere; without truth, you can't take a tiny step.
From the philosophical work "White Horse Thesis" (白马论) by Gong Sunlong (公孙龙), this stresses the fact that righteousness will see you through all difficulties, whereas without it your progress will be hampered from the very start.
9. 当局者迷，旁观者清。(Dāngjúzhě mí, pángguānzhě qīng / 'player confused; spectator clear')
— The player is lost; the watcher is lucid.
From the "Biography of Yuan Xingchong" in the Old Book of Tang (《旧唐书·元行冲传》), this points out that a person involved in a matter usually does not have a comprehensive overview of it, due to too much concentration on the details, while the onlookers, who have a calmer and more objective attitude, have a better grasp of what is going on.
10. 十年树木，百年树人。 (Shínián shù mù, bǎinián shù rén / '10 years cultivate wood, 100 years cultivate man')
— Ten years to cultivate wood, a hundred years to cultivate a man.
From the work of Guan Zhong (《管子·权修 第三》) who was a politician in the Spring and Autumn Period, it means that (though 10 years to grow a tree that's ready to be used as wood is a long time,) a person's education is a life-long process or most time-consuming.
11. 民以食为天。 (Mín yǐ shí wéi tiān / 'Subjects think food is heaven')
— Food is the first priority of the people.
From "Records of the Grand Historian" (《史记》), it means 'hunger breeds discontent', and its full form is "王者以民人为天，而民人以食为天。" — 'Kings treat the people as heaven, moreover, people treat food as heaven.' … meaning a ruler's first priority is his subjects; the subjects' first priority is food.
12. 善有善报。 (Shàn yǒu shànbào / 'good have good recompense')
— Repay good with good.
From the Southern Dynasties work "New Wine and Meat" (《新酒肉文》) by Emperor Wu of Liang (464–549), it means: virtue has its rewards; or: one good turn deserves another.
13. 顾左右而言他。(Gù zuǒyòu ér yán tā/ 'deliberately approximate and talk something else')
— Deliberately vague and deflective.
From "King Hui of Liang" in the Book of Mencius (《孟子·梁惠王下》), it means to be vague and elusive under questioning.
14. 几家欢喜几家愁。(Jǐjiā huānxǐ jǐjiā chou / 'few families happy few families worried')
— While some are happy, some are anxious.
It means: one man's disaster is another man's delight.
15. 人过留名，雁过留声。(Rén guò liúmíng, yàn guò liúsheng / 'man passes leaves name, swallow passes leaves sound')
— A person leaves a reputation, as a swallow leaves its call.
From the 32nd chapter of Legend of Heroes (《儿女英雄传》), it means that someone's reputation is easily remembered.
16. 万事俱备，只欠东风。(Wànshì jù bèi, zhǐ qiàn dōngfēng / 'all are ready, only lack east wind')
— Everything's ready except the east wind.
From the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (《三国演义》), this means that everything is ready except what is crucial.
17. 麻雀虽小，五脏俱全。(Máquè suī xiǎo, wǔzàng jù quán / 'sparrow although small, five organs entirely complete')
— Small as it is, the sparrow has all the vital organs.
From Qian Zhongshu's work "Fortress Besieged" (《围城》), it means that although something looks small, its content is very comprehensive.
18. 桂林山水甲天下。(Guìlín shānshuǐ jiǎtiānxià / 'Guilin mountains-and-water best under-heaven ')
— Guilin's scenery's best on earth.
It was written by the Song Dynasty governor of Guilin, Wang Zhenggong (王正功,1133–1203) as part of a poem in 1201, and has been so often quoted in Chinese culture that Guilin has become the image of scenic beauty in China.
19. 哑巴吃饺子，心里有数。 (Yǎba