諺語 · a single proverb
天高地厚
What does 天高地厚 (tiān gāo dì hòu) mean?
天高地厚 (tiān gāo dì hòu) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "the sky is high, the earth is thick." In use it means: The enormity of the world is beyond easy comprehension. Someone who does not know 'heaven high, earth thick' does not understand the scale of things or their own smallness within them. 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 Dragon.
Literally: "the sky is high, the earth is thick."
The reading
The young person thinks the world ends at the edge of town. The traveler knows the world ends much further than that, if it ends at all. Understanding how high the sky is and how thick the earth is not about measurements. It is about proportions. Your problems are real. The sky is also real, and much taller.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Book of Songs 詩經, Xiao Ya 小雅; Zhuangzi 莊子
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 Dragon, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.
Questions
Is 天高地厚 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 天高地厚 (tiān gāo dì hòu) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Book of Songs 詩經, Xiao Ya 小雅; Zhuangzi 莊子. 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 天高地厚?
In Mandarin it is tiān gāo dì hòu. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 天高地厚 aloud in Mandarin.