35 Famous Confucius Quotes To Remember

The founder of Confucianism lived during the fifth and fourth century BC. His philosophy was about social relationships, justice and sincerity.

Confucius is known as the “Father of Chinese culture”, and he really did have a lot of wisdom to give. He taught us to respect our elders, and to do our best to be good citizens.

There are many famous Confucius quotes that’s why I have only listed 35. I am sure you will find more of the sayings. To the left you can see the original quote.

Confucius was born in 551 BC, a descendant of the royal Zhou family.

35 Famous Confucius Quotes

People get attached to their expectations and they try to create a simple explanation to make them more understandable.

We shouldn’t compare ourselves with others, we should look back at our past and see how we are improving. You should always be motivated to improve yourself in some way and we should always look forward to the future!

As long as you keep going at your current pace, you’ll eventually reach your destination.

The will to win, the desire to succeed, and the urge to reach your full potential are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.

If you think of planting one seed, that seed must be planted in a good condition in order for the tree to grow into a full-grown tree.
If you think of planting one tree, you must plant numerous trees.
If you think of planting various trees, you should plant them in various places.

I guess by that, it was probably a good thing that my parents never had the chance to meet Confucius.

I’d like to encourage you to keep learning, to keep growing and stay engaged, but most importantly to keep your sense of humor. Sometimes, old age is a good thing, because it makes you think of all the good times you made, and the good times you had, and the positive experiences you had. It’s nice to know that you have so many positive things to look forward to.

You should always choose your words carefully. You never know who is listening and how they will be judged.

Being compassionate is easy but loving someone is difficult. Good things are complicated and bad things are simple. This makes sense.

10th of 35 Confucius Quotes

Being virtuous is not about doing the things that other people (like you!) think you should do. It’s about finding out what it means to be a good person, and sticking to that understanding of what goodness is. The Chinese philosopher Confucius said this.

A diamond can have flaws, so be cautious with your actions.

12. I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.

When you are walking with another person, look at the best parts of them and bring them into you. Look to the bad parts of them and make sure you correct them.

Go ahead, do it. Make a change. You’ll be glad you did.

I would say that the best way to learn is to reflect. If you reflect, you will learn more and better. By imitation is easy, you just do what everyone else is doing. With experience, there is no room for learning. It hurts.

Sometimes you can’t meet your goals, but you can still meet your actions. If your goals are not achievable, it does not mean that you should adjust your goals, it means that you need to be more creative and resourceful in finding a way to meet them.

There are many things that are not beautiful to me and to others.

Choosing a job you love is a good way to start a career. You can keep doing the work you love and make more money in the process.

Do your best to not get thrown out of the competition. Don’t let past failures and failures that happened during the competition cause you to lose focus.

20th of 35 Confucius Quotes

You can only be modest in speech. You must over-deliver in action.

I’ve already seen and heard the wicked and so this man is a wicked man.

It is fine to impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.

I am learning to be happy with what I have, rather than waiting to get what I want.

I am not one who is born with knowledge, but I am one who is fond of antiquity, and I am earnest in seeking it.

First we must learn to sharpen our tools and become better at doing so. In order for new practices to stick around and become a part of our company culture, there needs to be a push from the top to change the rules and expectations for that practice.

We are only as good as our knowledge and if we don’t learn from our mistakes then we will continue to make the same mistakes and be in the same place we were a month ago. This is why we need to constantly learn and grow as an individual and as a team. If you don’t learn from your own mistakes, you will be a part of the same problems that you have been through.

If you don’t correct what you have done, you will keep doing the exact same mistake.

The quality of truth is not determined by the truth itself, but by how we use it.

If you want others to behave in a certain way, make sure you behave in the same way.

30th of 35 Confucius Quotes

When you know a thing, to believe what you know; When you do not know a thing, to believe what you do not know — this is knowledge.

A diamond isn’t perfect, but you can’t beat its shine.

To be well adjusted is to practice five things under all circumstances. These are gravity (being aware of our place as compared to others), generosity of spirit (putting others first), sincerity (honestly trying to get to the truth), earnestness (working hard to find the truth), and kindness (being concerned for others).

People with no virtue must speak; People who speak are not all virtuous.

I like to question things. I like to think about things. I like to get to the bottom of things.

If you don’t know how to live, why wonder about death?
You know how to live just fine, my dear boy.

Summary

Keep in mind that this list of famous Confucius quotes is not based on any authoritative source. These famous quotes are the opinion of the author and do not reflect the official thoughts of the Confucius Institute.