a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

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Calque from Chinese 千里之行,始於足下 (qiānlǐ zhī xíng, shǐyú zú xià), quoted by the Chinese philosopher Laozi in the Tao Te Ching. This quote is sometimes erroneously attributed to Laozi's contemporary, Confucius, or to the Japanese.

34 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Arabic: رِحْلَةُ اَلْأَلْفِ مِيلِ تَبْدَأُ بِخَطْوَةِ وَاحِدَةِ (riḥlatu l-ʔalfi mīli tabdaʔu bi-ḵaṭwati wāḥidati) — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Chinese Cantonese: 千里之行,始於足下 (cin1 lei5 zi1 hang4, ci2 jyu1 zuk1 haa6) — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Chinese Mandarin: 千里之行,始於足下 (qiānlǐ zhīxíng, shǐyú zúxià) — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Czech: cesta dlouhá tisíc mil začíná jedním krokem — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Dutch: een reis van duizend mijlen begint met een enkele stap — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Esperanto: milmejla vojaĝo komenciĝas per unu paŝo — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Estonian: tuhande miiline rännak algab esimesest sammust — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Finnish: pisinkin matka alkaa yhdellä askeleella — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• French: un voyage de mille lieues commence toujours par un premier pas — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• German: eine Reise von tausend Meilen beginnt mit dem ersten Schritt — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Greek: ένα ταξίδι χιλίων μιλίων ξεκινά με ένα μόνο βήμα (éna taxídi chilíon milíon xekiná me éna móno víma) — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Hebrew: גם מסע של אלף מייל מתחיל בצעד אחד קטן — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Hindi: हजार कोसों का सफर भी एक पैर उठाने से ही शुरू होता है (hajār kosõ kā saphar bhī ek pair uṭhāne se hī śurū hotā hai) — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Hungarian: az ezer mérföldes utazás is egyetlen lépéssel kezdődik — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Italian: un viaggio di mille miglia comincia con il primo passo — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Japanese: 千里の道も一歩から (senri no michi mo ippo kara) — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Korean: 천 리 길도 한 걸음부터 (cheon ri gildo han georeumbuteo) — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Korean: 천리지행 시어족하 (cheollijihaeng sieojokha) — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Lithuanian: tūkstančio mylių kelionė prasideda žengus vieną žingsnį — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Norwegian: en vandring på tusen mil starter med ett enkelt skritt — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Polish: podróż tysiąca mil zaczyna się od jednego kroku — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Portuguese: uma viagem de mil milhas começa com um único passo — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Romanian: o călătorie de o mie de mile începe cu un singur pas — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Russian: путь в ты́сячу вёрст начина́ется с пе́рвого ша́га (putʹ v týsjaču vjorst načinájetsja s pérvovo šága) — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Serbo-Croatian: далеко путованје починје првим кораком — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Serbo-Croatian: daleko putovanje počinje prvim korakom — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Slovene: potovanje daleč se začne s prvim korakom — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Spanish: un viaje de mil millas comienza con un solo paso — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Swahili: aambuaye nyayo safari ameianza — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Tagalog: ang mahabang paglalakbay ay nagsimula sa isang hakbang — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Thai: หนทางไกลนับพันลี้เริ่มต้นจากก้าวแรก (hǒn taang glai náp pan líi rə̂əm dtôn jàak gâao rɛ̂ɛk) — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Turkish: binlerce kilometrelik yolculuk bile tek bir adımla başlar — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Ukrainian: шлях у ти́сячу миль почина́ється з одного́ кро́ку (šljax u týsjaču mylʹ počynájetʹsja z odnohó króku) — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
• Vietnamese: hành trình ngàn dặm bắt đầu từ một bước đi — a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step