諺語 · a single proverb
欲速則不達
Simplified: 欲速则不达
What does 欲速則不達 (yù sù zé bù dá) mean?
欲速則不達 (yù sù zé bù dá) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "desire speed, then you do not arrive." In use it means: Rushing defeats its own purpose. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Fire note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Horse.
Literally: "desire speed, then you do not arrive."
The reading
The part of you that wants this finished by tomorrow is the same part that will make you redo it next week. Speed feels like progress and often it is only noise. Slow the hand, and watch how much less you have to walk back.
The story
The line is from the Analects, Book 13, where Confucius warns a new magistrate that wanting speed defeats it, and that an eye on small gains blocks great affairs. It is used against impatience, naming the way the rush to finish a thing often forces you to redo it, so that haste and arrival pull in opposite directions.
Notice that the part of you wanting this done by tomorrow is the same part that will make you redo it next week. Slow the hand where the work has to hold, and measure progress by how little you have to walk back, not by how fast you moved.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Analects 論語, Book 13
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 Humility & Self-Mastery, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Horse, Year of the Rat, Year of the Snake, and Year of the Goat.
Questions
Is 欲速則不達 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 欲速則不達 (yù sù zé bù dá) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Analects 論語, Book 13. 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 欲速則不達?
In Mandarin it is yù sù zé bù dá. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 欲速則不達 aloud in Mandarin.