諺語 · a single proverb
人貴有自知之明
Simplified: 人贵有自知之明
What does 人貴有自知之明 (rén guì yǒu zì zhī zhī míng) mean?
人貴有自知之明 (rén guì yǒu zì zhī zhī míng) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "what is precious in a person is self-knowledge." In use it means: Knowing yourself is the rarest and most valuable kind of knowledge. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Water note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Monkey.
Literally: "what is precious in a person is self-knowledge."
The reading
Most people know what they are good at. Very few know what they are bad at. Fewer still can say it out loud. The person who can look at their own record and see the holes has something worth more than any skill: the ability to stop wasting time pretending.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Laozi 老子 (chapter 33); common folk form
Sits beside
井底之蛙
jǐng dǐ zhī wā
Someone with an extremely narrow view of the world, who mistakes the small circle of sky above the well for the whole sky.
冰凍三尺，非一日之寒
bīng dòng sān chǐ, fēi yī rì zhī hán
Nothing deep-a skill, a habit, a ruin-forms overnight.
心急吃不了熱豆腐
xīn jí chī bù liǎo rè dòu fu
Impatience will not speed things up.
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 Monkey, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 人貴有自知之明 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 人貴有自知之明 (rén guì yǒu zì zhī zhī míng) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語), and it comes from Laozi 老子 (chapter 33); common folk form. 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 人貴有自知之明?
In Mandarin it is rén guì yǒu zì zhī zhī míng. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 人貴有自知之明 aloud in Mandarin.