Wise Old Sayings and Quotes: Introduction. Welcome to Wise Old Sayings, one of the oldest collections of wise quotes, proverbs and sayings gathered from all.
1Having or showing experience, knowledge, and good judgement.
English, these 19 motivational quotes to help you get motivated to learn English. Starting early with your learning will mean that you have time to deal with.
We are all here to live, but our individual missions aren’t always the same. Some are explorers, searching for adventure in all that they do. Others choose to build a life of service through innovation and creativity. There is truly no shortage of destinies, roles or dreams to fill; we’re a planet of healers, givers, teachers… the list goes on and on.
Related:5 Simple Steps to Plan Your Dream Life
The meaning of it all, including why we’re here, is truly based on your perspective, but these 15 wise quotes are a good place to start building your philosophy—your own meaning of life.
Related: 17 Quotes About Living a Beautiful Life
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SUCCESS is your guide for personal and professional development through inspiration, motivation and training.
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When you’re down on motivation, it’s a great idea to get some advice from an expert. We don’t always have experts on hand, though. If that’s the case and you need some advice to help you get motivated to learn English, turn to some of the greatest thinkers of the past with these 19 quotes to help you get motivated to learn English.
1. The best way to predict the future is to create it. – Abraham Lincoln
If you want to be a fluent speaker of English in the future, you need to make it happen.
2. You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. – C.S.Lewis
Many people say it’s easier to learn a language when you are young but there are advantages to learning a language when you are older.
3. Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. – Gandhi
Enjoy living in the moment but remember that learning English will prepare you for the future.
4. Learning is not a spectator sport. – D. Blocher
If you want to master English, get involved and practise as much as possible.
5. There is no substitute for hard work. – Thomas Edison
Learning any language is hard work so prepare well, put in the hours and you will achieve your goals.
6. Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. – Lao Tzu
Starting early with your learning will mean that you have time to deal with things in small steps. Even a large goal is more approachable if you break it down into smaller ones and just get started.
7. Today a reader, tomorrow a leader. – Margaret Fuller
Reading is not just important for acquiring knowledge, it will help you build your vocabulary and range in English, too.
8. Learning is like rowing upstream, not to advance is to drop back. – Chinese Proverb
In a world where everyone else is learning, if you don’t take your learning seriously you will fall behind.
9. The secret of getting ahead is getting started. – Mark Twain
Like the Lao Tzu quote earlier, this one is a great way to help you stop procrastinating. Anything you can do right away will help you get ahead with your goal of leaning a language.
10. If you can dream it, you can do it. – Walt Disney
Walt Disney was well known as a man who made dreams come true, and you can, too. It just takes plenty of hard work.
11. It doesn’t matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. – Confucius
Learning a skill such as a new language can take a long time. If you feel like your progress is slow, bear in mind these wise words from Confucius. The important thing is to keep going and you will get there in the end.
12. By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. – Benjamin Franklin
Earlier in the year, we shared some tips on how to plan your studies for the coming year. Planning is important when you are learning a language so don’t be afraid to put some time into it.
13. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. – Samuel Beckett
Making mistakes is a natural part of the language learning process. The key is to learn from these mistakes. Don’t be afraid to try out new things in English but always remember to reflect on them and decide what was successful and what you need to keep working on.
14. Language is “the infinite use of finite means.” – Wilhelm von Humboldt
Remember, it is possible to communicate big ideas with relatively limited language. Don’t feel like you need perfect English before you can go out and have interesting conversations with other people.
15. Is it not enjoyable to learn and practise what you learn? – Confucius
Using your English skills is fun. Make time just to enjoy speaking English.
16. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. – Joseph Addison
More wise words on reading here. Reading will also help you improve your English writing by introducing you to new, interesting sentence structures.
17. To have another language is to possess a second soul. – Charlemagne
Learning a new language gives you the chance to be a different person if you want to. Make the most of that chance.
18. Language is wine upon the lips. – Virginia Woolf
When you are learning a language, remember to slow down and enjoy the process. The language itself is often as enjoyable as the end goal.
19. Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. – Benjamin Franklin
Very sensible advice. Now it’s time for you to get involved.
Which of the quotes was your favourite? Share it on with your friends and inspire them to improve their English, too!
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Wil
Wil is a writer, teacher, learning technologist and keen language learner. He’s taught English in classrooms and online for nearly 10 years, trained teachers in using classroom and web technology, and written e-learning materials for several major websites. He speaks four languages and is currently looking for another one to start learning.
Here are some quotes about words from famous writers. that the word has remained man's principal toy and tool: without the meanings and values it sustains.
Idioms are common to most, if not all, languages. Often, they share meanings with idioms in other languages, yet every place has its own funny phrases to express universal sentiments and experiences. Japan is no exception. Countless idioms have become staples of everyday conversation, and though they may sound strange to American ears at first, many of them sound just as cool translated into English. Here are 30 Japanese idioms we should all start using.
Translation: “One’s act, one’s profit”
Meaning: Similar to “you reap what you sow.” Everyone eventually faces the consequences of their actions.
Translation: “Ten men, ten colors”
Meaning: Similar to “different strokes for different folks.” People have different tastes and preferences — and that’s okay.
Translation: “Wake from death and return to life”
Meaning: To take a bad or desperate situation and turn it into a successful one.
Translation: “Pulling water to my own rice paddy”
Meaning: To do or say things for your own benefit.
Translation: “Evil cause, evil effect”
Meaning: Another iteration of “you reap what you sow.” This one is a tad more specific and almost suggests a karmic outcome.
Translation: “Not seeing is a flower.”
Meaning: In Japan, flowers can be used to represent imagination, beauty, and sometimes politeness. In this case, the idiom means, “Reality cannot compete with imagination.”
Translation: “The weak are meat; the strong eat.”
Meaning: This one’s pretty straightforward, meaning something like “survival of the fittest.” Bonus points because it rhymes.
Translation: “Ocean thousand, mountain thousand”
Meaning: A reference to the sly old fox, someone who’s seen everything and can therefore handle any situation, usually through cunning.
Translation: “Drunken life, dreamy death”
Meaning: To dream your life away or have your head in the clouds. To spend all your time daydreaming without accomplishing anything.
Translation: “One life, one encounter”
Meaning: Every encounter is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter. Sometimes used as a reminder to cherish every moment because you’ll only experience it once.
Translation: “Different body, same mind”
Meaning: Refers to kindred spirits or like-minded people, somewhat similar to calling someone a “brother from another mother.”
Translation: “Sheep head, dog meat”
Meaning: False advertising, similar to the phrase “crying wine and selling vinegar,” only the Japanese idiom paints a more graphic picture.
Translation: “Meeting person always separated”
Meaning: Perhaps the most Confucius-esque idiom of the bunch, this one simply means that every meeting must end in a parting.
Translation: “Beautiful person, thin life”
Meaning: More superstition than anything else, this one really means that a “beautiful woman is destined to die young” but is more analogous to “beauty fades.”
Translation: “Work of self, obtainment of self”
Meaning: Similar to “you get what you give,” only the Japanese version sounds way more fulfilling.
Translation: “If you do not enter the tiger’s cave, you will not catch its cub.”
Meaning: You can’t achieve anything without taking risks, or “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
Translation: “Even monkeys fall from trees.”
Meaning: A considerably more hilarious way to say, “Everybody makes mistakes.”
Translation: “There are even bugs that eat knotweed.”
Meaning: A roundabout way of saying, “There’s no accounting for taste” or “to each his own.” Japanese knotweed is one of the world’s worst invasive species.
Translation: “Child of a frog is a frog.”
Meaning: “Like father, like son.”
Translation: “Spilt water will not return to the tray.”
Meaning: A way of saying, “No use crying over spilled milk,” only water fittingly seems like way less of a significant loss than milk.
Translation: “Not knowing is Buddha.”
Meaning: A more mystical way of saying “Ignorance is bliss.” Bust this one out on the beach or at a party, trust me.
Translation: “Gold coins to a cat.”
Meaning: Same as “pearls before swine,” meaning to give a gift to someone who can’t appreciate it.
Translation: “A frog in a well does not know the great sea.”
Meaning: People make judgments based on their own limited experiences with no knowledge of the world outside of those experiences.
Translation: “One who chases after two hares won’t catch even one.”
Meaning: If you try to do two things at once, you will fail at both. Or, in the words of Ron Swanson, “Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing.”
Translation: “An apprentice near a temple will recite the scriptures untaught.”
Meaning: Like saying, “People are a product of their environment.”
Translation: “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”
Meaning: This one rolls “if at first you don’t succeed” and “perseverance is better than defeat” into one idiom.
Translation: “Giving birth to a baby is easier than worrying about it.”
Meaning: Stressing out about something is usually worse than the thing you’re stressing out about. And it certainly doesn’t help.
Translation: “Unless an idiot dies, he won’t be cured.”
Meaning: A harsh way of saying, “Only death will cure a fool.” Or maybe, “You can’t fix stupid.”
Translation: “Don’t let your daughter-in-law eat your autumn eggplants.”
Meaning: Don’t let yourself be taken advantage of.
Translation: “Dumplings rather than flowers.”
Meaning: This one is used to refer to someone who prefers substance over style, a practical person. There’s that use of “flower” again. 
A version of this article was previously published on May 18, 2014 by Alex Scola, and was updated on October 1, 2019 by Alex Bresler.
Word to the wise is a shortened version of the phrase a word to the wise is sufficient. Bascially meaning that I'll say one word and you will be wise enough to .
