諺語 · a single proverb
車到山前必有路
Simplified: 车到山前必有路
What does 車到山前必有路 (chē dào shān qián bì yǒu lù) mean?
車到山前必有路 (chē dào shān qián bì yǒu lù) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "when the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a road." In use it means: Do not panic about obstacles you have not reached yet. When you get there, a way through will present itself. Worry is interest paid on a debt you may never owe. 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 Goat.
Literally: "when the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a road."
The reading
The mountain looked impassable from five miles away. At one mile it looked difficult. At the base there was a path the map did not show, worn by all the other carts that had the same panic five miles back. Half of the obstacles in your life will solve themselves by the time you arrive. The other half will look different up close than they did from a distance.
What kind of proverb it is
Source folk proverb 民間諺語; widely attested since Ming dynasty
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 Adversity & Resilience, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Goat, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 車到山前必有路 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 車到山前必有路 (chē dào shān qián bì yǒu lù) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from folk proverb 民間諺語; widely attested since Ming dynasty. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.
How do you pronounce 車到山前必有路?
In Mandarin it is chē dào shān qián bì yǒu lù. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 車到山前必有路 aloud in Mandarin.