智者千慮，必有一失

Chinese

		wise man; man of wisdom; sage	thousand	anxiety		certainly; must; will certainly; must; will; necessarily	to have; there is; there are to have; there is; there are; to exist; to be	one; single; a one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.)	to lose; to miss; to fail
trad. (智者千慮，必有一失)		智者	千	慮	，	必	有	一	失
simp. (智者千虑，必有一失)		智者	千	虑	，	必	有	一	失
alternative forms		智者千慮，或有一失／智者千虑，或有一失

Etymology

廣武君曰：『臣聞智者千慮，必有一失；愚者千慮，必有一得。』 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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广武君曰：『臣闻智者千虑，必有一失；愚者千虑，必有一得。』 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian, c. 91 BCE

Guǎngwǔ jūn yuē: ‘Chén wén zhìzhěqiānlǜ，bìyǒuyīshī; yúzhěqiānlǜ，bìyǒuyīdé.’ [Pinyin]

Lord Guangwu (Li Zuoche) said, “I have heard a saying that a wise person may make mistakes after thinking thousand times; an unintelligent person may have some good ideas after thinking thousand times.”

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zhìzhěqiānlǜ, bìyǒuyīshī

  (Zhuyin): ㄓˋ ㄓㄜˇ ㄑㄧㄢ ㄌㄩˋ , ㄅㄧˋ ㄧㄡˇ ㄧ ㄕ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zi³ ze² cin¹ leoi⁶, bit¹ jau⁵ jat¹ sat¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zhìzhěqiānlǜ, bìyǒuyīshī [Phonetic: zhìzhěqiānlǜ, bìyǒuyìshī]
    • Zhuyin: ㄓˋ ㄓㄜˇ ㄑㄧㄢ ㄌㄩˋ , ㄅㄧˋ ㄧㄡˇ ㄧ ㄕ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jhìhjhěcianlyù, bìyǒuyishih
    • Wade–Giles: chih⁴-chê³-chʻien¹-lü⁴, pi⁴-yu³-i¹-shih¹
    • Yale: jr̀-jě-chyān-lyù-, bì-yǒu-yī-shr̄
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jyhjeechianliuh, bihyeouishy
    • Palladius: чжичжэцяньлюй, биюиши (čžičžɛcjanʹljuj, bijuiši)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ t͡ɕʰi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ly⁵¹⁻⁵³ pi⁵¹ joʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: zi³ ze² cin¹ leoi⁶, bit¹ jau⁵ jat¹ sat¹
    • Yale: ji jé chīn leuih, bīt yáuh yāt sāt
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzi³ dze² tsin¹ loey⁶, bit⁷ jau⁵ jat⁷ sat⁷
    • Guangdong Romanization: ji³ zé² qin¹ lêu⁶, bid¹ yeo⁵ yed¹ sed¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡siː³³ t͡sɛː³⁵ t͡sʰiːn⁵⁵ lɵy̯²² piːt̚⁵ jɐu̯¹³ jɐt̚⁵ sɐt̚⁵/

Proverb

智者千慮，必有一失

1. even the wise aren't always free from errors (even after making deep and careful consideration)

Antonyms

• 愚者千慮，必有一得／愚者千虑，必有一得 (yúzhěqiānlǜ, bìyǒuyīdé)