Chinese sayings and proverbs

Welcome to the largest Chinese proverbs colection. You will find here ancient Chinese proverbs, wise sayings, Chinese phrases and even funny Chinese proverbs. Click on the title to read it, think about it and then read it again. Chinese sayings have layer upon layer of wisdom, so don't hesitate to comment - share your opinion on the sayings, give some real life examples and even ask when you feel puzzled. And if you know some proverb that isn't listed here, don't hesitate to share it!

Happy reading!

A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor a man made perfect without trials

So lovers, to their fair one fondly blind, E’en on her ugliness with transport gaze

One joy shatters a hundred griefs

Vicious as a tigress can be, she never eats her own cubs

Men in the game are blind to what men looking on see clearly

Man has a thousand plans, heaven but one

Rivers and mountains may change; human nature, never

Rats know the way of rats

Once on a tiger’s back it is hard to alight

What is whispered in your ear is often heard a hundred miles off

Garlands are not for every brow

Enough’s as good as a feast

Four things come not back: the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life and the neglected opportunity.

The devil can quote Scripture for his own ends

If you always give, you will always have

Silly toad

An old friend met in a far country is like rain after drought

Illness comes in by mouth; ills come out by it

The best memory is not so firm as faded ink

You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair

Behind an able man there are always other able men

He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount

A chicken is hatched even from such a well-sealed thing as an egg

Forethought is easy, repentance hard

The saving man becomes the free man