諺語 · a single proverb
智者千慮，必有一失
Simplified: 智者千虑，必有一失
What does 智者千慮，必有一失 (zhì zhě qiān lǜ bì yǒu yī shī) mean?
智者千慮，必有一失 (zhì zhě qiān lǜ bì yǒu yī shī) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語). Word for word it reads "a wise person with a thousand considerations will still miss one." In use it means: Even the smartest person makes mistakes. No plan is airtight. 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: "a wise person with a thousand considerations will still miss one."
The reading
The comfort in this saying is not that wisdom fails. It is that failure is built into the system. You do not have to be perfect to be wise. You have to be wise enough to know that your plan has a hole somewhere, and that the hole does not cancel the other 999 good decisions.
What kind of proverb it is
Source Records of the Grand Historian 史記, Huaiyin Marquis chapter (淮陰侯列傳)
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 智者千慮，必有一失 a real Chinese proverb?
Yes. 智者千慮，必有一失 (zhì zhě qiān lǜ bì yǒu yī shī) is a four-character classical idiom (chéngyǔ 成語), and it comes from Records of the Grand Historian 史記, Huaiyin Marquis chapter (淮陰侯列傳). 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 智者千慮，必有一失?
In Mandarin it is zhì zhě qiān lǜ bì yǒu yī shī. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 智者千慮，必有一失 aloud in Mandarin.