好hǎo記jì性xìng不bù如rú爛làn筆bǐ頭tóu

What does 好記性不如爛筆頭 (hǎo jì xìng bù rú làn bǐ tóu) mean?

好記性不如爛筆頭 (hǎo jì xìng bù rú làn bǐ tóu) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "a good memory is not as reliable as a worn-out pen tip." In use it means: Writing things down beats trusting your memory, no matter how sharp it is. The pen remembers what the mind forgets. 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 Monkey.

Literally: "a good memory is not as reliable as a worn-out pen tip."

The reading

You were certain you would remember. You did not. The grocery list, the phone number, the idea that came at three in the morning. The mind is a brilliant but unreliable witness. The scrap of paper with the worn-out handwriting is a terrible writer but a perfect witness. Trust the paper.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeyànyǔ 諺語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element土 Earth
• Zodiac tie猴 Year of the Monkey

Source folk proverb 民間諺語; educational maxim

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 Wisdom & Learning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Monkey, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.