知之者不如好之者

zhīzhīzhěbùrúhàozhīzhě

phrase

Meanings

1 those who know it are not as good as those who love it
2 genuine interest beats mere knowledge
3 (lit.) one who knows it is not equal to one who is fond of it

Characters

it (object pronoun)

as / equal to (不如 = not as good as)

to be fond of / love

Examples

学语言，知之者不如好之者，兴趣是最好的老师。

Xué yǔyán, zhī zhī zhě bùrú hào zhī zhě, xìngqù shì zuì hǎo de lǎoshī.

In language learning, 'knowing isn't as good as loving it' — interest is the best teacher.

孔子说知之者不如好之者，说明热爱比了解更重要。

Kǒngzǐ shuō zhī zhī zhě bùrú hào zhī zhě, shuōmíng rè'ài bǐ liǎojiě gèng zhòngyào.

Confucius said 'those who know are not as good as those who love,' showing that passion beats mere understanding.

Tips

history

From 《论语·雍也》: 知之者不如好之者，好之者不如乐之者 (Those who know it are not equal to those who love it; those who love it are not equal to those who delight in it). Confucius's three-tier ladder of learning: 知 (know) < 好 (love) < 乐 (delight in) — one of the most-quoted educational maxims in Chinese.

usage

好 here is read hào (4th tone, 'to be fond of'), not hǎo ('good'). Often paired with the second half 好之者不如乐之者 to make the full point.

Stroke Order

知 zhī

之 zhī

者 zhě

不 bù

如 rú

好 hǎo