A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
Traditional Chinese	千里之行，始於足下
Simplified Chinese	千里之行，始于足下
Literal meaning	A journey of a thousand Chinese miles (li) starts beneath one's feet
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Qiānlǐ zhī xíng, shǐyú zú xià Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Chīn léih jī hàhng, chí yū jūk hah Jyutping Cin1 lei5 zi1 hang4, ci2 jyu1 zuk1 haa6

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" is a common saying that originated from a Chinese proverb. The quotation is from Chapter 64 of the Tao Te Ching ascribed to Laozi,[1] although it is also erroneously ascribed to his contemporary Confucius.[2] This saying teaches that even the longest and most difficult ventures have a starting point; something which begins with one first step.

The phrase is also translated as "A journey of a thousand miles begins from under the feet"[3] and "A thousand mile journey begins where one stands"[4]

References

1. "Lao Tzu". BBC World Service. Archived from the original on 2006-10-27. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
2. Keyes, Ralph (2007). The quote verifier : who said what, where, and when. New York: St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-4299-0617-3. OCLC 865093666At Internet Archive
3. Laozi (2015-09-14). Dao De Jing: A Minimalist Translation (in Chinese). Translated by Linnell, Bruce R.
4. Dao De Jing. University of California Press. 2001-12-20. doi:10.1525/9780520931213. ISBN 978-0-520-93121-3.