智者千慮,必有一失

简 智者千虑,必有一失 · 繁 智者千慮,必有一失
Mandarin · pinyin zhì zhě qiān lǜ , bì yǒu yī shī

Meanings

  1. lit. a wise person reflecting a thousand times can still make a mistake (idiom); fig. nobody is infallible
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Characters in this entry

智
zhì · wisdom, knowledge, intelligence
者
zhě · that which; he who; those who
千
qiān · thousand; many, numerous; very; (Cant.) a cheater, swindler
慮
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必
bì · surely, most certainly; must
有
yǒu · have, own, possess; exist
一
yī · one; a, an; alone
失
shī · lose; make mistake, neglect
虑
lǜ · be concerned, worry about
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

智者千慮,必有一失 · find source passages ↗ · 智者千虑,必有一失 · find source passages ↗

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智者千慮,必有一失 · zhi4 zhe3 qian1 lu:4 , bi4 you3 yi1 shi1
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 53,928
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record智者千慮,必有一失 智者千虑,必有一失 [zhi4 zhe3 qian1 lu:4 , bi4 you3 yi1 shi1] /lit. a wise person reflecting a thousand times can still make a mistake (idiom); fig. nobody is infallible/