千里之行

qiānlǐzhīxíng

idiom #67,759

Meanings

1 a journey of a thousand li
2 any great undertaking (short for 千里之行，始于足下, begins with a single step)

Characters

li (Chinese mile)

(possessive particle)

to go / journey

Examples

千里之行，始于足下，慢慢来。

Qiān lǐ zhī xíng, shǐ yú zú xià, mànmàn lái.

A journey of a thousand li begins with a single step — take it slow.

学外语是千里之行，急不得。

Xué wàiyǔ shì qiān lǐ zhī xíng, jí bù dé.

Learning a foreign language is a thousand-li journey; you can't rush it.

创业路上千里之行，每一步都算数。

Chuàngyè lù shàng qiān lǐ zhī xíng, měi yī bù dōu suànshù.

On the long road of building a company, every step counts.

Tips

history

From 《老子》第六十四章: 合抱之木，生于毫末；九层之台，起于累土；千里之行，始于足下. 'A tree wide as an arm's span grows from a tiny shoot; a nine-story tower rises from a mound of earth; a thousand-li journey begins beneath one's feet.' The short form 千里之行 evokes the whole saying.

Stroke Order

千 qiān

里 lǐ

之 zhī

行 xíng