諺語 · a single proverb
大巧若拙
What does 大巧若拙 (dà qiǎo ruò zhuō) mean?
大巧若拙 (dà qiǎo ruò zhuō) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞). Word for word it reads "great skill appears as clumsiness." In use it means: True mastery often looks effortless and plain; the greatest craftspeople appear to do less, not more. 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 Ox.
Literally: "great skill appears as clumsiness."
The reading
The mark of someone who has done something ten thousand times is that they look like they are hardly doing it at all. The effort has gone underground. What remains on the surface is just the work-clean, unhurried, and without any announcement of how much it cost.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Tao Te Ching 道德經, ch. 45 (Laozi)
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 Ox, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Tiger.
Questions
Is 大巧若拙 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 大巧若拙 (dà qiǎo ruò zhuō) is a line of classical verse (shīcí 詩詞), and it comes from Tao Te Ching 道德經, ch. 45 (Laozi). 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 大巧若拙?
In Mandarin it is dà qiǎo ruò zhuō. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 大巧若拙 aloud in Mandarin.