a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesphrase
a long journey begins with the first step; great achievements are built upon small, gradual efforts
literaryA classical idiom originating from Laozi's "Daodejing" (Chapter 64). Used to emphasize the importance of starting and persevering with small actions to achieve a grand goal.
Xué学
xí习
wài外
yǔ语
hěn很
nán难
，
dàn但
qiān千
lǐ里
zhī之
xíng行
，
shǐ始
yú于
zú足
xià下
，
měi每
tiān天
jiān坚
chí持
bèi背
dān单
cí词
jiù就
huì会
yǒu有
jìn进
bù步
。
Learning a foreign language is difficult, but a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step; you will make progress if you persist in memorizing vocabulary every day.
Chuàng创
bàn办
zhè这
jiā家
gōng公
sī司
shí时
，
wǒ我
men们
zhǐ只
yǒu有
sān三
gè个
rén人
，
qiān千
lǐ里
zhī之
xíng行
，
shǐ始
yú于
zú足
xià下
，
jīng经
guò过
shí十
nián年
nǔ努
lì力
cái才
yǒu有
le了
jīn今
tiān天
de的
guī规
mó模
。
When we founded this company, there were only three of us. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step; it took ten years of hard work to reach today's scale.
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Bù不
yào要
hào好
gāo高
wù骛
yuǎn远
，
jì记
zhù住
‘‘
qiān千
lǐ里
zhī之
xíng行
，
shǐ始
yú于
zú足
xià下
’
，
bǎ把
yǎn眼
qián前
de的
xiǎo小
shì事
zuò做
hǎo好
。
Don't aim too high and overlook the basics. Remember, 'a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,' so do the small tasks in front of you well.