必先苦其心志

bìxiānkǔqíxīnzhì

phrase

Meanings

1 must first make his mind and will suffer
2 (Heaven) first torments the person's mind and resolve (as a trial)

Characters

cause to suffer (causative)

will, aspiration

Examples

天将降大任于斯人也，必先苦其心志。

Tiān jiāng jiàng dà rèn yú sī rén yě, bì xiān kǔ qí xīnzhì.

When Heaven is about to give a great task to such a person, it must first make his mind and will suffer.

想成大事，必先苦其心志。

Xiǎng chéng dà shì, bì xiān kǔ qí xīnzhì.

If you want to achieve great things, you must first endure mental hardship.

Tips

history

From Mencius 《孟子·告子下》: ‘故天将降大任于是人也，必先苦其心志，劳其筋骨，饿其体肤，空乏其身，行拂乱其所为。’ (Therefore when Heaven is about to give a great mission to such a person, it first torments his mind and will, tires his muscles and bones, starves his body, impoverishes him, and confounds his undertakings.) The list of trials that makes a hero.

usage

苦 is causative here: ‘cause to suffer.’ 心志 = mind and will. Almost always cited as part of the longer Mencius sequence.

Stroke Order

必 bì

先 xiān

苦 kǔ

其 qí

心 xīn

志 zhì