不bù以yǐ惡è小xiǎo而ér為wéi之zhī

What does 不以惡小而為之 (bù yǐ è xiǎo ér wéi zhī) mean?

不以惡小而為之 (bù yǐ è xiǎo ér wéi zhī) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "do not do something just because the wrong is small." In use it means: Even minor transgressions matter; small wrongs repeated become large ones. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Earth note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Dog.

Literally: "do not do something just because the wrong is small."

The reading

The first shortcut is tiny. The second is slightly larger. The third is barely bigger than the second. Fifty shortcuts later, you are standing somewhere you would never have agreed to go if someone had described the destination at the start. The distance between small and large is measured in repetitions, not in inches.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeyànyǔ 諺語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element土 Earth
• Zodiac tie狗 Year of the Dog

Source Romance of the Three Kingdoms 三國演義, attributed to Liu Bei's deathbed words

Sits beside

Keep reading

Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Harmony, Virtue & Balance, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Dog, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.