千军易得，一将难求

千軍易得，一將難求

qiānjūnyìdé,yījiàngnánqiú

idiom

Meanings

1 it's easy to raise an army of a thousand, but hard to find a single good general
2 talented leaders are far rarer than rank-and-file followers

Characters

general (military)

Examples

公司不缺员工，缺的是领军人物 — 真是千军易得，一将难求。

Gōngsī bù quē yuángōng, quē de shì lǐng jūn rénwù — zhēn shì qiānjūn yì dé, yī jiàng nán qiú.

The company doesn't lack employees, it lacks a leader — truly, an army is easy to raise, but a great general is hard to find.

教练叹道千军易得，一将难求啊！

Jiàoliàn tàn dào: qiānjūn yì dé, yī jiàng nán qiú a!

The coach sighed: a thousand soldiers are easy to find, but one captain is rare indeed!

Tips

usage

Modern HR/management favorite — quoted whenever talent for a leadership role is in short supply. The proverb is older than CC-CEDICT credits; it appears in Yuan-dynasty drama (元曲) and earlier.

Stroke Order

千 qiān

军 jūn

易 yì

得 dé

一 yī

将 jiāng

难 nán

求 qiú