a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

English

Alternative forms

• a journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step
• a thousand-mile journey begins with the first step

Etymology

Calque from Chinese 千里之行，始於足下 (qiānlǐ zhī xíng, shǐyú zú xià), quoted by the Chinese philosopher Laozi in the Tao Te Ching. This quote is sometimes erroneously attributed to Laozi's contemporary, Confucius, or to the Japanese.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

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Proverb

a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

1. Even the longest and most difficult ventures have a starting point.
   • 2020, Malcolm Turnbull, The Reluctant Republic, Hardie Grant Publishing, →ISBN:

     It has often been said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. We have made many steps in our journey towards the republic, and perhaps are closer to our destination than we imagine.

   • 1989, Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Free Press, →ISBN:

     “A thousand-mile journey begins with the first step” and can only be taken one step at a time. If you don't let a teacher know at what level you are—by asking a question, or revealing your ignorance—you will not learn or grow.

   • 1981, Robert Leland Youngs, Forest products research needs and prospects (thinking globally, acting locally), Forest Products Laboratory, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture:

     The problems are great--but this means that the opportunities are also great. In this situation it is well to remember the ancient wise words of Lao Tzu "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."

Synonyms

• take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves
• many a mickle makes a muckle
• every little helps
• little and often fills the purse

Translations

a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

• Arabic: رِحْلَةُ اَلْأَلْفِ مِيلِ تَبْدَأُ بِخَطْوَةِ وَاحِدَةِ (riḥlatu l-ʔalfi mīli tabdaʔu bi-ḵaṭwati wāḥidati)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 千里之行，始於足下 (cin¹ lei⁵ zi¹ hang⁴, ci² jyu¹ zuk¹ haa⁶)

  Mandarin: 千里之行，始於足下 (zh) (qiānlǐ zhīxíng, shǐyú zúxià)

• Czech: cesta dlouhá tisíc mil začíná jedním krokem
• Dutch: een reis van duizend mijlen begint met een enkele stap
• Esperanto: milmejla vojaĝo komenciĝas per unu paŝo
• Estonian: tuhande miiline rännak algab esimesest sammust
• Finnish: pisinkin matka alkaa yhdellä askeleella
• French: un voyage de mille lieues commence toujours par un premier pas
• German: eine Reise von tausend Meilen beginnt mit dem ersten Schritt
• Greek: ένα ταξίδι χιλίων μιλίων ξεκινά με ένα μόνο βήμα (éna taxídi chilíon milíon xekiná me éna móno víma)
• Hebrew: גם מסע של אלף מייל מתחיל בצעד אחד קטן
• Hindi: हजार कोसों का सफर भी एक पैर उठाने से ही शुरू होता है (hajār kosõ kā saphar bhī ek pair uṭhāne se hī śurū hotā hai)
• Hungarian: az ezer mérföldes utazás is egyetlen lépéssel kezdődik
• Italian: un viaggio di mille miglia comincia con il primo passo
• Japanese: 千里の道も一歩から (ja) (senri no michi mo ippo kara)
• Korean: 천 리 길도 한 걸음부터 (ko) (cheon ri gildo han georeumbuteo), 천리지행 시어족하 (cheollijihaeng sieojokha)
• Lithuanian: tūkstančio mylių kelionė prasideda žengus vieną žingsnį
• Norwegian: en vandring på tusen mil starter med ett enkelt skritt
• Polish: podróż tysiąca mil zaczyna się od jednego kroku
• Portuguese: uma viagem de mil milhas começa com um único passo
• Romanian: o călătorie de o mie de mile începe cu un singur pas
• Russian: путь в ты́сячу вёрст начина́ется с пе́рвого ша́га (putʹ v týsjaču vjorst načinájetsja s pérvovo šága)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: далеко путованје починје првим кораком

  Roman: daleko putovanje počinje prvim korakom

• Slovene: potovanje daleč se začne s prvim korakom
• Spanish: un viaje de mil millas comienza con un solo paso
• Tagalog: ang mahabang paglalakbay ay nagsimula sa isang hakbang
• Thai: หนทางไกลนับพันลี้เริ่มต้นจากก้าวแรก (hǒn taang glai náp pan líi rə̂əm dtôn jàak gâao rɛ̂ɛk)
• Turkish: binlerce kilometrelik yolculuk bile tek bir adımla başlar
• Ukrainian: шлях у ти́сячу миль почина́ється з одного́ кро́ку (šljax u týsjaču mylʹ počynájetʹsja z odnohó króku)
• Vietnamese: hành trình ngàn dặm bắt đầu từ một bước đi