書shū到dào用yòng時shí方fāng恨hèn少shǎo

What does 書到用時方恨少 (shū dào yòng shí fāng hèn shǎo) mean?

書到用時方恨少 (shū dào yòng shí fāng hèn shǎo) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "books when needed then regret few." In use it means: Only when you need knowledge do you realize how little you have stored; learn while you can. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Wood note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Snake.

Literally: "books when needed then regret few."

The reading

The well seems deep enough until the drought comes. What was read and put aside but not truly held returns as gap at the exact moment a bridge was needed. Study is not preparation for some future occasion; it is the slow building of the bridge before the river is in front of you.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeyànyǔ 諺語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element木 Wood
• Zodiac tie蛇 Year of the Snake

Source Ming Dynasty 明·諺語 (Ming dynasty folk proverb)

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 Snake, Year of the Frog, and Year of the Rat.