From the Bible's account of Jesus' last night in Gethsemane. Matthew 26:41 : Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak
As much as one wishes to achieve something, the frailties of the human body often make it impossible . Sometimes extended to jocular or organizational referents. achieving something is made impossible by frailty
Arabic: الرُوحُ تَوَّاقَةُ وَلٰكِنَّ الجَسَدُ ضَعِيفُ ( ar-rūḥu tawwāqatu walākinna l-jasadu ḍaʕīfu )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 心有餘而力不足 ／ 心有余而力不足 (zh) ( xīn yǒu yú ér lì bù zú )
Czech: duchť zajisté hotov jest, ale tělo nemocno
Danish: ånden er rede, men kødet er skrøbeligt
Dutch: de geest is gewillig, maar het vlees is zwak
Esperanto: la spirito ja estas fervora, sed la karno estas malforta
Finnish: henki on altis, mutta liha on heikko henki tosin on altis, mutta liha on heikko
French: l’esprit est prompt, mais la chair est faible
German: der Geist ist willig, aber das Fleisch ist schwach (de)
Hebrew: אמנם הרוח חפצה, אבל הבשר חלש הרוח חפצה והבשר רָפֶה
Hindi: आत्मा तैयार है लेकिन मांस कमजोर है ( ātmā taiyār hai lekin māns kamjor hai )
Hungarian: a lélek kész, de a test erőtlen (hu)
Italian: lo spirito è pronto, ma la carne è stanca
Japanese: 心熱けれど肉体は弱し ( kokoro netsu keredo nikutai wa yowashi )
Latin: spiritus quidem promptus est, caro autem infirma
Maori: he hihiko te wairua, ko te kikokiko ia he ngoikore
Norwegian:
Bokmål: ånden er villig men kjødet er svakt
Polish: dusza chętna, ale ciało słabe
Portuguese: o espírito está pronto, mas a carne é fraca
Russian: дух бодр, плоть же не́мощна ( dux bodr, plotʹ že némoščna )
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: дух је, истина, вољан, но тијело је слабо
Roman: duh je, istina, voljan, no tijelo je slabo
Spanish: el espíritu está presto, mas la carne enferma
Swedish: anden är villig men köttet är svagt 1917 );anden vill , men kroppen är svag 2000 )
Vietnamese: tâm thần thì muốn lắm, mà xác thịt thì yếu đuối